The Emerald Servant
by mysterypen12
Summary: Years have passed, The mane six finally split up, leading their own lives. Spike decided to continue living his life in ponyville, a quiet life. that is until he has a chance encounter with Trixie and an interesting arrangement, letting her live at his place. this leads to them battling once untouched personal demons and the once small and quiet town opening up to them.
1. Chapter 1

The sun was bright, the dirt streets were dense and populated, the smell of fresh grass and manure, those were the things that convinced the young drake to stay in the town. He was looking out the window and watching all of the hard working ponies living their lives with a smile on their face. That smile, a smile of purpose is what spike wanted and he's not sure whether he would ever acquire such a thing. _"You don't have to stay, come be a princess's assistant"_ the words were constantly on repeat in his head. The request he denied, the requesthe couldn't nod off to, it's not something he wanted to change however. As he was re shelving returned books, it gave him time to think and clear his head. People rarely came into the library and it made his job a whole lot easier. His job was basically to look after the library and make sure nothing was out of place or stolen. Running the place was just his idea, twilight just really wanted someone to look over her books. Yes, rows and rows of individual books with different stories, information and more, are all hers. Finally he finished reshelving books and decided to check the kitchen and see if there was anything in there worth making. Just recently he's been trying to incorporate different types of foods besides gems into his diet. Greed is something that comes with overconsumption of gems and the side effects are not fun for him or the people around him. "Maybe… gems, just for today" he said to himself, not really looking forward for the trip to the diamond mines however. "Ehh, i'll just bite the bullet and go, probably a dead location by now" spike said to himself as he headed out the door and onwards to the world.

As he finally reached the location, the mine seemed very dark and hollow from the outside looking in. Gems used to be embedded in the walls, giving the entrance of the cavern a sense of natural lighting. Now the gems were gone from the sides of the wall, leaving only empty dents and a hollow and deep cave to enter. This isn't spike's first time going into to cave since dealing with the diamond dogs, it's not like he just dosen't eat gems anymore. He hates going back and forth from this place just to get something nice to eat, it's not like it's even hard either. Ponies don't really see a worth in gems in this town ever since rarity's boutique stopped operation a couple years ago. Sometimes you see some people come down from time to time using gems for many different things but besides that it's open for the taking. Spike didn't even enter the mine yet, he was on a rocky hill that was overlooking it. From first glance it seemed pretty safe and spike was ready to start searching for gems until he heard hoofsteps. "Ughhhh, I wanted to do this in solitude" spike groaned to himself, still he dropped down and made a pace for the entrance of the cave. "Almost forgot!" he exclaimed, looking for a nearby tree to break a branch off of. As he finally found one, the next thing he heard made him double take "How many stupid walls till i find the color that i want!" the voice exclaimed. The voice seemed familiar enough but he couldn't put a finger on who it belonged to. Luckily, he found a stick near the cave, spike didn't really wanna climb a tree today for just a branch. Spike blew a small and contained bit of fire and lit the top of the stick on fire, making a competent torch. Spike then saw a light purple hue come from the cavern "unicorn magic, i'll keep the stick around just in case i need it" spike said, blowing out the flame and finally entering the cave.

A sense of calm, that's walking through this cave is oddly doing for spike. Doing a meandering task like searching for gems was kind of calming for the young drake. Gives an average drake time to think about things and be grateful about where he is. Got a nice place to stay, all the fellows ponies are nice to him, leading a life that he's in control of. Who wants destiny, destiny is such a frugal thing anyways. It's a one shot deal, ambassador, captain, world leading designer, assistant…. "What am i doing here?" spike asked himself, thinking way to hard again and not noticing that somebody…. "Hey!, could you self reflect somewhere else!" the mare's voice exclaimed. Spike finally turned around and looked at the mare that screamed at him, that mare had a name and spike remembered it clearly. "Trixie!" spike exclaimed in return, she shushed him and replied quietly "quiet dragon, this is still diamond dog territory" spike then nodded in reply but still in shock "what are you doing back here?" spike asked, trixie didn't really treat the dragon with that much regard "why should you know?" she asked, with an attitude backing her answer. Spike actually thought about it and backed down quickly, however, he still wanted some sense of friendliness to come from her. "Found any gems?" spike asked, that was actually something that got the light blue mare to talk "for your information, found at least a couple, you'd be blind not to see them" of course, the theme of the day is insults when it comes to her.

She pointed towards a direction and spike started heading towards the direction she pointed and found a shining pile of gems. "Thanks, i guess" spike replied, trixie only nodded while shining her horn around the cave. "What are you even looking for?" spike asked, trixie gave an audible groan before answering. "A specific color, it goes with my cape, the gem on it was… broken" she reluctantly said. "Come on, it's just a….." before spike could even finish, trixie broke her own rule "NO IT ISN'T!" she yelled, that stopped spike in his tracks. Spike had two choices in his head, leave with the bounty of gems he collected or do what his natural instincts always tell him to do. "Hey" spike called out, trixie sharply turned her head and replied "what now dragon?" she asked him. Spike once again thought about his next response, that something inside him couldn't turn her away. "The color, what is it?" spike asked, trixie gave off an audible groan, but surprisingly….. "Amethyst" she replied and spike nodded and started looking around the cave. Spike had a very special ability as a dragon, gem awareness allows him to easily detect the presence of gems for when he needs to hunt them. He sensed a massive gathering of gems just one path away from where he was. "I think there's a huge pile of gems to look through down here!" spike exclaimed and trixie turned and replied "are you stupid, unless you prepared for a fight with diamond dogs then go ahead, i'm not covering you" this should have been a scream for spike to tell trixie to piss off, but….. "What if they wouldn't even know i'm there" spike said, this phrase gained trixie's attention.

"All we need to do is at least check, if you see the color, i'll grab it" spike said, this much risk for someone who wasn't really nice from beginning. "Ok, i can't believe i'm saying this…. Are you sure you wanna do this?" trixie asked. Something nice, maybe a bit of concern… "don't want your blood on my hands you know, i'm gonna run for the door if things go south" spike now realized how stupid doing this for her was, "can't back down now, don't wanna look like a coward" spike replied, his face one of pure confidence. Something was off about the dragon, it's almost like he took the stupidity of this idea and just kinda ran with it. Trixie started casting the spell she learned for cloaking herself and others. "Hey, how many times have you used this spell?, just checking my death probability" spike asked, trixie replied in stride "are you doubting the great and powerful!..." spike then interjected quickly "ok,ok!" spike looked around the environment and saw what seems like a smaller cavern that lead into the same direction but in a higher elevation. "Hey, could you fit in there?" spike asked, trixie then stopped casting the spell and nodded. "Ok, see if you can find any gems up there, call me if you do" spike said, trixie just nodded again but then looked at how high the smaller cavern is. "Uhhh, you expect me to do that on my own dragon?" she asked, then spike replied "yeah, don't worry, any trouble comes along and i'll be right behind ya" giving her a thumbs up. Trixie scoffed at this sentiment and teleported her way into the smaller cavern.

There's no way back, it's perfectly dark, what if he takes off before anything happens to me?, these were the thoughts that surprisingly plagued the mind of the unicorn. "See anything up there!" she heard spike exclaim, she might of felt insecure in here but nothing could stop her from bullying the poor drake. "Not yet, hold you horses dragon, you better not be down there doing nothing while i'm suffering in her!" she bit back, spike then replied "it's only been two minutes, come on now!" he exclaimed, she's completely surprised that no diamond dog has awoken yet from their slumber. "The minute i see light, i'm out of this dust hole" trixie said to herself while crawling, seeing nothing but darkness. It's been years since she's been in ponyville and an adventure is already starting without her even looking for one. That beating in her heart, the constant racing in her mind, this is what being in the action feels like and she's not sure whether it's something to keep around. The only thing that feeling brings her is… "a light?, i think it's…." she then crawled closer where the light was coming from and it was the other side of the tunnel. She then crawled a little further… "trixie?, do you see anything?!" spike exclaimed, she ignored his call and finally saw the color she was looking for. "I don't need him anymore" she said to herself, now finding out if there were any diamond dogs left to pose a threat. From the corner of her eye, she saw nothing to be worried about. "Trixie!, are you ok up there!?" spike exclaimed, she didn't even give the drake a reply.

"Come on now" spike said to himself, genuinely gaining a sense of worry. "That blood will be on my hands, it was my plan" spike sounded crazy by how much he was talking to himself at this point. Then the worst possible sign was given to him…. "Gahhh!" a loud scream, now he had to go and find where the dogs have her located. But maybe he really didn't need to after he heard trixie say… "i'm not the one who wanted your gems, there is a very hungry dragon in here, let me lead you to him!" spike felt disgusted, she was basically sentencing him to death. Spike wasn't going to run, he was gonna use her excuse to save both of their skins. He was shaking with every step he took toward the direction he heard the voices. A fight is definitely something he's not ready for, "let's hope i can make a peaceful resolution" spike said to himself, continuing forward towards the voices. "Show yourself, drake!" finally, he heard the voice of a diamond dog. Based on how clear the voice sounded, he was almost at their location. The cave started closing in on him, his breath was getting shorter and shorter, his fear was starting to kick in. "come out or the only thing you'll see up here is a puddle of blood!" the dog exclaimed, something is up about this specific diamond dog. Blood hungry isn't a word that spike would describe as the personality of a diamond dog. Maybe bargaining isn't the way out of this situation at all and spike really needs to come up with some alternate plan. All this thinking and he didn't even realize that diamond dog 6 steps in front of him. In one of his arms he held trixie, only inches away from a claw to her throat. "One good lift and she's gone dragon" the dog said, no one really cares that spike even has a name apparently. "Look….. Nothing has to be done here!" spike exclaimed, that only made the dog even more irritated. "You think you have anything that could give you the right to decide that!" he exclaimed, he didn't like it but spike might actually have something that gives him this right. "Hey, what about a huge pile of extra gems i found, that's all you care about, right?" spike asked with confidence or at least faking it enough. "Hmmmm, fine but one other term…. Never come back to this place, one less visitor is good for me" he replied, this screwed over spike so unrealistically much but… "sure, needed less gems in my diet anyway" spike replied with a light chuckle , the diamond dog was in no mood to laugh.

"Finally got some kind of use out of you!" trixie exclaimed, spike was in no mood to listen to her, not even talk about what just happened. All he saw behind him was a dog that was celebrating the bounty that spike just gave him. "Hey….. check this out" trixie whispered and he saw the amethyst gem she collected. He wanted to start ranting but pissing off the diamond dog they just had a successful trade with would be a very bad idea. They were almost out of the cave and something intriguing happened "here" she gave spike an extra gem that she managed to swipe as well. Spike was beyond puzzled by an actual kind action from her. "Uh…. thanks, how were you even able to swipe two extra gems?" spike asked, trixie's face lit up with just the idea of explaining why she was actually able to get away with something this risky. "Easy, put the color i wanted and a random gem on top of the tunnel the dog found me in and cloaked them before he pulled me out" trixie replied, this made the exchange they just had a little odd when looking back at it. He wasn't really focused on her even if he was trying to save her, neither was the diamond dog. "Where could you have…" spike was about to ask but then trixie quickly interjected "i swiped them on the way out of here" all spike could do is nod to how genuinely clever that was to think of at the very last second. They finally reached outside of cave and then trixie said "Hey….. Thanks or whatever, i could have been dead" spike then shook his head and replied "it's just the right thing to do…" spike said with a level of uncertainty. "Be glad, you've saved a flawless mare from being killed by a giant brute!" she replied. This actually made spike let out a small chuckle for the first time in this whole mess. "Just so you know, name is spike not dragon" spike said and then she replied "finally you spoke up, i was waiting for you… spike" the dragon was perplexed by the meaning of that. "Ok, nice to meet your acquaintance… trixie" spike replied, putting a claw out for a handshake. She first looked at the claw with a sense of dismissal but then looking at the gem that he helped her acquire, she at least owed him a handshake. They finally locked claw and hoof and shook on their new comradery. They didn't even share an extra word before splitting up on their separate ways. "Now i need to actually buy sweets from the cakes from now one" spike groaned just remembering what he gave up. Why would he give up something that major for someone he barely knows?


	2. Chapter 2

" _Could you do one thing for me spike?" the loud party music almost drowned rainbow's voice out. "Yeah, what ya need?" spike asked in a false slang. This made rainbow chuckle before she replied "keep an eye out for fluttershy, she's the only one who made the same choice you did."_

Chapter 2: flyers

"Really, that sounds exciting" fluttershy said in her usually soft voice, spike was talking about his small scale adventure with trixie. She abandoned her small shack years ago but when moving she still wanted to be farther away from the other townspeople. Take a walk into the deep and lush forests that barely skirt on the edge of the everfree and you'll find her home. It's a little bigger than her older hut but it's mostly for the endless amount of creatures she takes care of. Vines covered the outside of her home while the inside of her house was a contrast to the nature theming of the house. It was one floor only, like most places in this town, ponies don't really need that many amenities when it comes to living. Give them a place to go, prepare food, and sleep, everything else is handled by vendors. The flooring was completely grass and that was the oddest part about her house compared to anyone else's. "It's was….. But mostly scary cause someone almost died" spike was very careful with his wording, for some reason he wanted to keep trixie secret. "Oh, well i'm glad you and this mystery mare are ok" she replied, not really looking for details in his story. "Enough about me, how are you holding up?" spike asked, she shifted around before answering the question "fine, not the best but fine" she replied, this only peaked spike's suspicion of her well being. "What's going on?" he asked. "I just…. Can't really find the time to do anything, taking care of animals here" she replied, this seems in character but something seems a little off about her answer. "I'm sure that they can wait for just an hour or two for you to do something" spike replied. Fluttershy pondered this idea but quickly replied with "these animals, they rely on me more than anything". Confused was the first reaction he had to this ideal, even when everyone was still here, animal care was never that drastic of a concern. "How about this, i need to pick up some sweets from the cake's, come with me and you can come right back here" spike replied, trying hard to get fluttershy out of the hut. "Well…. Ok, but we go right back to the hut" she said sternly, spike immediately nodded and they lifted themselves off their seats in the kitchen and went on their way.

A recluse is one thing that does not describe the pegasus known as fluttershy. There is a big difference between someone like a recluse and her. She not afraid of nature, people, confrontation, or anything like that anymore. She dosen't stay inside her home, taking care of the local animals doesn't allow her to do that. Something about her however put spike off and this little journey to the cake's was going to be his way of finding that out. "So, has anyone come to visit beside me?" spike asked jokingly, but then fluttershy replied "not… really, it's been awhile" that answer isn't really what the drake was prepared for. "Oh….. uh, how about rainbow, she could make time to visit" spike replied, she shook her head and replied "wonderbolts core have been insanely busy lately, haven't even received a letter….." her voice started sounding weaker and weaker, spike finally found the issue. However, the issue would be put on hold because they finally reached the bakery. As spike entered the shop and greeted the couple that owned the shop, he saw fluttershy look up into the sky and saw a regular wonderbolt patrol passby. Spike passively ignored this and walked up to the counter to place an order. "Just a plain chocolate cake please" spike said as ms. cake wrote down the order and replied "sweets today, couldn't find any gems huh?" ms cake asked, spike only nodded in reply as she then said "time is a little slower than usual, pinkie is out for today" this intrigued spike, pinkie missing out on a day of work seemed so unlike her. "Oh, have you found out why she took a day?" spike asked. Ms. cake shook her head and replied "it's odd, i usually have to beg her for a day off" that might not be good news for….. Spike turned around and realized that fluttershy was gone. "Oh, well you have my order, how many bits is it gonna be?" spike asked. She not a child but a part of him started really growing this concern for her. "Just 4, it'll be ready in about 5 minutes" Ms. cake replied as spike gave her the bits and made a dash out the door.

There are a couple places he could check, first of all he needs to find a landmark to refer to when searching. The fountain that sits in the middle of the town is a good one, would let him know if he gets too far away from town. One moment she was looking up at a wonderbolt patrol and the next she's gone. Maybe that's the first clue for him to start with, but he has no idea where the patrols were heading. "I saw the patrol head south, that's where i'll start…." spike started saying but he didn't even need to make a search "hey spike…. Just wanted a place outside to sit, the weather is pretty nice out here" she said, sitting on a bench a couple paces from the bakery. Spike made his way there and sat alongside her. "Sometimes….. I look up in the sky and wonder if she'll ever come back for me" she said while looking up in the sky, spike wasn't the one for speeches or words, how is he supposed to help someone who has the same problem as him. "You can't… let it take over, you know that right?" spike asked, fluttershy nodded but then replied "i'm just afraid….. She forgot about me" this statement made her voice sound the weakest. "No, no definitely not that!" spike exclaimed, all fluttershy did was look at him and sit in silence.

" _I'm not sure if she'll be ready to handle everyone leaving, make sure she doesn't regret her choice!" rainbow exclaimed, spike put a claw on her shoulder and replied "don't worry, i believe she'll be fine."_

"She…. she really cares about you, enough where i would be dead if i didn't check in with you" spike said, this made fluttershy pick her head off the ground and reply "really?!" the excitement in her voice gave spike a sense of comfort. "Yeah, busy or not she'll never forget about you" spike replied, fluttershy put up a smile and replied "i'll take your word on it, i miss her though" he missed them too, more than she'll probably give him credit for. "I do too…." spike tried to sneak by but fluttershy barely managed to hear him."huh?" she asked him, no response was necessary in his opinion. "Alright, time to check on the goods i ordered" spike said lifting himself from the bench and fluttershy followed him on a walk back to the bakery. It was a short walk but it was one filled with a peaceful silence between the two. Spike started putting a thought in his head about how similar fluttershy and him are actually becoming with their issues. That's why it's been so difficult for him to give her the right words to comfort her when moments like those arise. This responsibility isn't some kind of romantic interest or anything like that or at least that's what he likes to think. For now It's the idea that if he could keep fluttershy above water, then maybe it could validate some kind of issue he's having. They finally reached the bakery again and spike's order was ready for him the moment he entered the door. As he picked up the cupcakes, fluttershy was already almost out of the building before he could even lift the cupcakes. As spike was about the leave the shop when ms. cake called out "spike!" he immediately whipped around and saw a sack in between her teeth as she dropped it on the counter. "Someone dropped this off for you, there's also a note inside" she said, spike was confused by this. He walked over to the counter and picked up the suspicious bag and then mrs cake asked "you're not involved in anything dangerous, right?" spike shook his head in reply. "Happy trails!" she exclaimed while waving at the leaving drake who was looking at the mysterious sack given to him.

Spike kept the sack he was given in his hand for the remainder of time he was spending with fluttershy. He shook it and heard what sounded like coins jingling around in the bag, he didn't believe anyone would just send him money so he disregarded it. "What's in there?" fluttershy asked, spike shrugged and replied "don't know, hope it's not a curse" he said with a chuckle but fluttershy looked back at him with actual concern. "Curses can't be bagged" spike reassured her, fluttershy stopped in her tracks and replied "are you really sure, just cause you haven't seen it, dosen't mean it couldn't happen" spike slapped his palm on his forehead and just kept walking. So far they've made it to the end of the town and were heading into the forest, fluttershy stopped again and said "i could make it on my own from here, no need for you to stay any longer" for the first time, spike actually took her offer. "Ok, hang in there, things will get better" spike replied, fluttershy nodded and went off into the forest. "She would be kind of…. Nah!" spike exclaimed, a really strange and quick thought popped up in his head. Spike made his way back to the treehouse he called home, with the wonderfully smelling goods he purchased in his hands. He didn't really know too many people off the opposite sex that would really like him enough to give him such a bag. Twilight doesn't pay him, he doesn't really have much contact with celestia, luna is…. Not something he would like to fill his mind with right now. Maybe it could be… "no, definitely not her" spike said to himself, she did give him a free gem which could have really risked her life. "Opening it will be a job when i get to the treehouse" spike said to himself as he continued on the dirt road leading to the town.

'

Finally being able to relax after a long day, spike put the cake on the the table and was ready to sit on the sofa in the main living room. Spike then remember the sack that mrs. cake gave him and headed towards the living room and sat on the sofa. Spike then pulled the string wrapped on top of the bag and looked inside. "Oh my….." the sack was filled with bits and a small piece of folded paper in it. "Might have something on it" spike said to himself, pulling the piece of paper out of the bag and unfolding it. Spike started reading the piece of paper, it only had a sentence written on it "just one more gift for your work today, if you want more, meet me tomorrow for an arrangement." spike finishing reading the note. She didn't even need to put her name of the paper for spike to realize who wrote the note. "I'll check it out, do nothing better anyways…" spike said to himself as he lifted himself from the chair and headed towards the furnace in the middle of the room to light it. He didn't really have a bed to sleep in, he kind of outgrew the bed that was upstairs. He always could get a new one, have someone build it or whatever else it takes. He always thought that him sleeping under an open flame for warmth was a much better comfort than anything else could give him. He curled up next to the furnace and started drifting into a deep slumber, pondering what the next day could bring for him. "Wait, if she knew where my house was, why didn't she just send it in the mail?" spike asked, but then swatted his hand to forget about the slight leap in logic for her.

" _Spike… spike!" it was her again, the one who visits dreams. Spike groggily woke up and realized he was in some kind of empty dream realm. "Oh, hey again" spike said while waving, sounding like this isn't something really new. "Something's troubling you, is it the same thing you're always troubled with" luna asked, spike was not really gonna talk, that didn't matter anyways cause luna already starting reading through spike's mind. "Hmmmm, loneliness, i always thought the lack of adventure was your vice" she said, spike shifted his feet, filled with nerves from her revealing that information. "I'm not lonely, perfectly fine down here" spike replied, luna put a hoof down and sternly replied "you thoughts don't lie spike, they are the most intimate part of the mind:" spike gave up trying to hide from the princess of dreams and replied "i don't think… i feel lonely but….." he was about to finish but luna interjected quickly "my time is limited with you, happy dreams spike!" she slowly started fading away. "Wait!, don't you have anything else to tell me!?" spike exclaimed but luna replied "if you wanted to actually see me, why don't you come to the castle….." then she disappeared and the world around him started fading. "That was way shorter than usual" spike said to himself before….._

Spike's eyes shot open and he saw the sun beating down from the window across the room. "How could so much time pass in that short of a conversation?" spike asked himself while stretching and lifting himself off the floor. "Wonder what made her time so short?" spike asked himself while heading to the fridge to get a morning drink of orange juice. The one thing that he doesn't need to worry about when living alone is using cups for drinks. It's slob like but at the same time the drink does go into his belly and he has enough to use for later. As he pulled out the drink from the fridge and started drinking it, he glanced at the sofa and saw the sack and remembered something that was on his agenda today "gotta meet up with trixie… see what this is about" spike said to himself as he realized two things about how he looks. "I had a lot of trouble with holding stuff yesterday, maybe i should wear that coat rar….." spike started feeling a little bit more down but he needed to swallow his pride and use the coat practically. He made his way upstairs slowly, not looking forward to heading in the room he abandoned.

This room, is the only room is the treehouse that spike hasn't touched ever since they all left the town. His own old room, it's almost like a ghost inhabits the place when spike took it step by step to enter the room. The coat was plain as day to see, it had bright purple leather on the outside and green fur lining the inside. "This coat looks way too expensive, i wonder how much it costed her" he said to himself. Walking over to the tiny bed he used to call his sleeping quarters, now seeming a little too big to fit in it. He picked the coat up from the bed and started slipping it on, it seemed like a chilly day was coming for the young drake. The second thing that the drake realised is that trixie didn't even leave a location for them to meet on the paper. "I guess she might want me to meet her at the shop" he said to himself, walking down the stairs and pushing the door open. He made his way to the cake's shop, with no location, no specific time, or any specific way of contacting her.


	3. Chapter 3

`Chapter 3: not a fan of the blues

The drake was in the same exact seat at the bakery for almost an hour, at this point the environment was slowly driving him insane. The absolute lack of information for the meeting she wanted didn't help him. "Maybe this whole thing….." spike was about to say but someone interjected him "this whole what?, not healthy to talk to yourself, not healthy at all!" the bouncy voice seemed all too familiar. "Pinkie?" spike asked, turned around and finding the pink earth pony behind him. "That's right, at your service!" she replied, spike being slightly confused by some things that she says is just accepted now in his book. "Where were you yesterday?" spike asked, pinkie then quickly replied "that is a mystery that i don't even know the answer of?" if she was out that day then wouldn't she know where she was? "Just kidding!, getting ready to travel, finally finding my destiny and stuff" spike's brain was fried from her previous answer but her getting ready to travel is an answer he was surprised by. "Traveling and destiny, huh?" spike replied, pinkie nodded extremely fast and replied "i wanna travel the entire land and make people smile, it's just my thing" this didn't seem anywhere near out of color for her personality but it another person familiar to him disappearing.

"Before i leave, we're gonna have a huge party, a couple of our friends already said they'll be coming" pinkie said, this gained spike's interest. He hasn't seen the rest of the six in 3 years without counting pinkie and fluttershy. "Rarity might even come, wouldn't that be exciting!" she exclaimed, this made spike freeze up for a second. "Has she said…. Anything about me?" spike stuttered, his cheeks turning slowly red. "Yeah!, she really wants to see you, why ya ask?" she replied, this got him to slightly smile and reply "that's good, tell me about it when the time comes" pinkie nodded and replied "it won't be till at least the end of the summer but i'll remind you spikey!" spike folded his arms and put his head on the table, still hoping that trixie wanted to meet here. "What's going on with you?, did ya order anything?" pinkie asked , spike shook his head and replied "nah….. Waiting for someone" pinkie immediately latched onto that vague answer "ohhh, new mare huh?" spike aggressively shook his head and replied "definitely not that…. Someone gave me this and asked me to meet them" he pulled the sack out of his coat pocket and placed it on the table. Pinkie analysed the object and looked inside it, finding the pile of bits inside. "Ohhhhh, then how did you figure here was the right place?, are you a psychic spike?" she replied, he dismissed the last question and focused on the first one. "Well….. Could you keep a secret?" spike asked, pinkie shook her head rapidly and replied "i love secrets!" ironically, she exclaimed her love of secrets and grabbed the attention of the whole bakery. "Sshh, now are you listening" spike whispered and pinkie shook her head. "Well, trixie was in the diamond dog caverns yesterday" spike whispered, pinkie gave a silent oooh at the sentiment, once again spike reassured her of no romance involved. "Had a run in with one dog and i managed to save her from death, i think this is her way of thanking me for it, maybe giving me some kind of job" spike finished, pinkie nodded and froze for a second. Spike was purely confused by what she was doing until she unfroze and replied "she's coming in here in about 1 minute" spike chuckled but then he remember her precognitive abilities. "But isn't that limited to only to instant threats?" spike asked, pinkie then replied "practice, i'm only getting lucky with it so far, i might be able to time travel, but one pinkie is enough for this world" spike forgets how funny pinkie pie could be on the right occasion. "Alright, got some catch up to do with work, good luck with your marefriend!" she exclaimed, spike not really caring enough to correct her but… "already claiming me as yours, huh dragon?" spike turned around and saw the light blue mare behind him. "First of all, spike, second of all, misunderstanding" spike replied, trixie taking a seat next to him, about to give him the oddest proposition.

"Rent, you want a place to stay?" spike questioned, trixie nodded and replied "just till certain things get rearranged, time is of the essence with this deal dra…. Spike" spike had multiple thoughts about this whole deal. Why him?, how would he explain this to other visitors?, how would this affect his life of solitude? "Why me?" spike asked, trixie was dead silent and darted her eyes everywhere else beside looking at him. "Cause you've gained my trust, can't you value that?" she replied, gained her trust? Does that mean friendship is a close second? "I'm not that fond of you spike but….. You were a reliable resource and i want to take advantage of that just a little longer" for some reason, that made the drake lightly blush. "Umm….. thanks i guess…. Wait!, did you just admit you're using me?!" spike asked, trixie then replied "wouldn't you love to help the wonderful and beautiful mare in front of you?" she asked, he finally realised how much of a mistake this was, it killed half a day so it didn't really affect him. "I…." spike was about to answer but then trixie interjected "that sack of bits, you could get that every two weeks, just… please" if she has enough to give him this many bits on a consistent basis, then why is she sounding so desperate? "I…. don't need the money, the sack you gave me should be enough" spike said, trixie's eyes lit up but she quickly regained her composer. "well….. I thank you for your services" trixie said, this time she pulled out her hoof for a shake. Spike put his hand out and they shook on it, now sharing a living space together on agreement. "I have a couple ground rules though" she said, spike groaned, her having the nerve to set ground rules for his place.

"So this would be my room, needs to cleaned a little but you could manage that, right spike?" they made it back to the treehouse and spike was showing her around. He decided to give her his old room, not really anything he would want from that room beside the coat he wore today. "Yeah, i'll get it done, anything else princess?" spike said with heavy sarcasm. "You asked for this and i barely payed you for it either" she replied with a chuckle to back it up. He couldn't really say anything to bite back at her, he basically gave her a free place to stay because he feels right about it. "Just… you have anything else to do today, so that i could actually work on your room?" spike asked, "yeah… sort of, it'll be about an hour" she replied, spike wasn't surprised about that, she must have some type of job here to support that much bit income. "Alright, i'll get that done by the time your back" spike replied, trixie only nodded and continued her tour around the house. Spike was still in shock that he actually agreed to her proposition. That responsibility towards other people problems is something that gets him into a lot of stupid things like this. What is her issue anyways? She seems to have enough money to pay for at least a decently sized place in ponyville and might have a job to boot. Why would she need to crash at a place like this?, all of this just didn't add up for spike. "Alright, seems nice enough to hold my amazing nature, i'm heading out for an hour" trixie said, heading out the door, not even at least waving him goodbye. "Might as well start work on her room" spike said to himself, walking back into the room and starting the cleaning process. This was spike's expertise, he could call cleaning an activity and do it flawlessly if he's bored. From time to time spike's thoughts go wild when he doing a repetitive or boring task. He thought about how this room was used before he abandoned it and how he could actually fit inside of the tiny bed on the floor. He remembered that this was his safe and neutral location after any adventure that the six had. "Looks like i'll need to get a bed soon…. Eh, she'll probably not be here long, a larger cushion for the floor should do" spike said to himself, if anything, the one person he talks to the most is himself. He moved the almost broken closet outside of the room and headed towards the kitchen to get a broom. "I could move a couple things around and…" spike was already thinking about the multiple ways he could put the room together, "ok, this will take a little bit more time then" spike said to himself as he started roaming around the house to get more supplies.

Ponies are given all types of jobs to make a certain amount of bits, sell items, draft in a guard position, put on shows, all of these things make the town a breeding ground for success. Some people get the shorter end of the stick, it also doesn't help that you swindled people twice on your last visit. The only person that would accept the idea of giving trixie some type of job would be someone who is naive enough to believe in her. Well….Two people in the universe share that same trait and one of those people sells a variety of different things in this town. It's what most ponies would call a trading post, most come to trade items for bits. It taking the concept of a annual trading convention you would find outside of town and placing it in a smaller scale. The store had a simple design, glass displays on the counter of different items that were traded to the shop, quilts hanging on all of the walls, multiple displays of different things collected peppered around the main area of the shop. The owner took pride in the little shop she created for herself and even has a decent amount of customers come in from time to time. "Where is that mare, i don't have time for her games" she said, looking up at the clock on her wall. She then saw the light blue mare tap on the front door and she groaned at her unprofessional nature. "4 minutes late, trixie lulamoon" the mare said to herself, letting her inside in the process.

"Done, it should be satisfactory for her when she comes in" spike said to himself, taking a rest after a long overhaul of what used to be his room. First of all, he went out and bought a cushion for her to sleep on. The floor of the room was spotless and he even brought up a spare closet for her to use if she even buys any other pairs of clothes. "Cushion in the middle, closet and mirror on the side, seems good enough" spike said to himself, proud of his completed job on the room, he decided to go on the outside deck to relax. Spike walked to his left and opened the door at the end of the hall. Revealing a small outside deck with a beautiful view of the town, a rusted telescope was still there and untouched by spike. Spike pulled out a chair and just absorbed the view, something that has become a routine to him. It's his daily reminder of what kind of place he inhabits and how beautifully simplistic the town is. These moments are ones that he needs to treasure before everything turns haywire. "Why did i even agree to do this?, my days of solitude will probably be over" spike said to himself, groaning and lounging deeper into the chair. Why do something that gives you so much headache to do? Tons of sacrifices he's willingly made for this one random mare, things aren't really adding up in his head for it to be logical. "I don't….. Think she's ugly but definitely not gonna be my first" spike said to himself, thinking maybe he just wanted to impress a mare. Then he heard a knock on the door, interrupting his thoughts and knowing it was probably trixie. He walked his way downstairs and opened the door to see a very worn trixie going through the door and asking "please, tell me a have a room to die in right now?" she asked, spike nodded and headed his way back to the outside deck but then trixie looked at him and asked "and where are you going?" spike turned around and replied "outside deck, why are you asking?" trixie then replied "without making anything, jeez you're manners need work" she said this in a extremely passive aggressive manner. "What!, i… fine" spike didn't have the care to argue about something that petty. He walked downstairs and started towards the kitchen to fix something at least decent.

It was nothing much, he just made a simple omelet for both of them without that much real effort put in. However, she ate like a decent meal hasn't come to her in years and an omelet was the best thing she's ever had. "You did well with this i'll admit….." she said while still chewing on another piece of food. "Please just finish eating first, that's really gross" spike replied, trixie stopped chewing for a second and then in one gulp she swallowed it. "Even when i give you a compliment, it's not enough for you" she replied, that was a stretch for her? Spike passed this off and actually chuckled at the near stupidity. "Who are you laughing at, lowly dragon!" she exclaimed, spike then had his limit with that. "Hey!, now i need a ground rule, i have a name and you're going to use it!" he exclaimed. Trixie then replied "oh, so now you grow some kind of backbone?" her voice was one of complete confidence and control. "I….. i have a backbone" spike said unconfidently. "why am i here then?" trixie asked with sarcastic tone backing her voice , spike was just completely silent at that response. It's a good question, spike squeezed his hands open and closed, trying to find an angle to reply with. Then…. "Cause if i wasn't nice, you would already be packing" spike said, gaining frustration in his voice. already finished with his food and walking upstairs. He didn't even bother picking up after himself, he was still a little bit peeved by just that interaction alone. "Arrogant as…: spike was about to say to himself but he only heard one sentence from trixie. "Hey… don't worry about the dishes, i'll get to them" she said in a lower tone than usual, lacking her bombast or confidence. Spike continued walking up the stairs however, making that an issue for the next day.

The next day was a big surprise already for the drake, the first thing that spike was blessed with was a silent trixie for half of the morning. She didn't even demand him to make any breakfast for the both of them, laziness was actually something he could have today. The silence is something spike didn't question, he didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. As he was about to prepare a small breakfast for himself, he couldn't help but start to grow curious about her new state. "Hey, do you want any…" before spike could even finish the sentence "no, i'm good, piss off please!" she exclaimed. The first thing she's said all morning and it's for spike to basically piss off, this only puzzled the drake but not anger him. "Ok, more for me" he replied, somehow keeping a more reserved and nice outlook on the day. Maybe this was the dragon's special skill and he could get a cutie mark for extreme patience. Then, she just walked out the door without saying another word to him. This was the beginning of spike's odd second day co-existing with the blue mare, this didn't start his full interest into her problems however. So far, this was a godsend for spike, maybe she leaves and he doesn't have to feel bad about it. Then again, this was odd behavior, insulting him is not new but the full on silence is slowly picking at him. "Can't let that get to me, maybe eating my breakfast could push it out of my mind" spike said to himself, heading to kitchen to finish heating the eggs for his breakfast. He finished cooking the eggs and placed them on the table, starting to enjoy a hearty breakfast. "I'll…. Look into things when the time comes" that was spike's first answer before he continued eating his breakfast, not even giving it a second before being in someone else's case.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: leave enough alone, part 1

 _1 day ago_

Something about her bugs so many people, changing the mostly nice demeanor of the town into a more toxic one. The colts and mares of this town loathe trixie with a burning passion and trixie is starting to get sick of it. Only one person in her book doesn't loathe her and that person is about to scold her for being 4 minutes late. "Why 4 minutes?, what happened out there?" the mare asked trixie, trixie looked her in the eyes and replied "someone gave me a place to stay rose, i….. I have a place to stay" trixie's voice was emotionally shaky, not the most well known emotion coming from the infamous boaster in town. "That's great but you're still late and i have to penalize you pay" rose replied, trixie is still surprised how business focused rose is. "Don't care anyways" she replied, moving to the back of the store counter. Rose gave her a gaze while she was walking, she was slowly regaining herself but it was enough to still concern her. "Hey…. if you can't work, don't, dead weight is….." she didn't even finish before trixie violently interjected "i'm fine!, it won't affect your bottom line!" rose's face was hard to determine, she was either completely scared by her or shocked. "Sorry…. Stress gets the best of anyone" trixie replied, another thing that shocked the store owner. "Something wrong, shop doesn't open until an hour, we have time to talk" rose said, sitting on the store counter. "I….. i…." she was stuttering, the great and powerful trixie was stuttering in a sentence. "You know what, it's fine, don't need to tell me if you don't want to" rose said, moving off the counter and making her way towards the front door. "Wait, where are you going?" trixie asked, rose then replied "chasing a trade lead, nothing too major, watch the shop for me, it's what you're best at" with a satchel strapped on her back, she left for the door and trixie was on her own.

Business was slow and she knew the exact reason why it was slow, she's a pony repellent in every form of the word. Why would anyone purchase a product from someone who is know to swindle people? Trixie knew this and basically took this open amount of time to just relax and serve the occasional customer. "This gemstone was burned in the ember fires of dragon country, one of kind!" this colt was really trying to sell her on a worthless gem, but she knew exactly how to disprove his claims. "Really now, let me see the gem?" trixie asked, faking a sense of interest in the item. "S... !" he exclaimed, thinking he struck gold, gave the item to the young mare. "I would like my fortune in 4 individual bit sacks if…." he was about finish but trixie just tapped the gem twice on the counter and it shattered. "H...how!" the colt exclaimed, trixie had a smile of pure wicked satisfaction. "The first sign was how extremely hollow it looked, still could be burned by the amazing embers of dragons and i actually wanted to give you benefit of the doubt…." trixie was on a soapbox and was eating up every second of destroying his arrogant approach, how ironic huh? "So i held it and it was light as a feather, that judgement led me to believe the gem wasn't structurally sound and as you see….. I was correct" finally finishing her soapbox, the colt was still shocked by the reveal. "Hey…. i'll pay you the difference anyways…... " trixie said in a much softer tone, the colt rapidly nodded his head, expecting a big payday from the false gem. "About 200 bits for a standard gem, sounds fair to me, sorry ya got swindled" trixie finished, hard reality dropped on the colt. "I'll take it, thanks for sorting this out….. i guess" he replied, trixie obviously was satisfied with being right and she started completing the transaction and right in time her boss came in with a full satchel and based on her expression when coming in the door…. "You have a couple stories, don't you?" trixie asked, rose nodded furiously and made her way inside the building. Only needing to find a sack to put the colt's payment in, trixie searched behind to counter to look for one. "Hey….. what's your name?" the colt asked, thinking that he was asking for her name, trixie replied nervously "uhhh….. Lula" the colt nodded and replied with a chuckle "ok then, don't laugh but mine's grounder" trixie wasn't really one to follow the rules of others in the first place, she was laughing like an insane mare. "I know, i know, my parents really hate me" grounder replied and the laughing started becoming infectious. "Alright sir, here's your payment and stay above ground sir!" she replied, grounder gave a light chuckle and actually left the door with a smile on his face. Rose chuckled and said "lula?, really?" trixie swatted her away and said "business was slow and you know why" rose smiled and replied "you did a good job, although i wouldn't have gave him anything for that dust he called a gem" trixie shrugged and sat on the front counter she just served someone on, rose followed along and sat next to her. "During my trade travels i've picked up amazing things" rose said, trixie really doesn't care about how many knick knacks she finds usually but her talking stops her from thinking too deeply. "A chipped horn piece from a changeling, quills made from pheonix feathers…" trixie nodded off, pretending to harbor way more interest then she actually had.

The moon was full tonight, it was the brightest thing in the night sky, along with the stars that sparkled like diamonds. Trixie thought the night sky looked the prettiest when it comes to ponyville, when regular ponies are asleep and store vendors light up the main square of the town. Rose doesn't have night hours, her business type does not really suit late night and she is totally fine with this ideal. Trixie and rose were locking up and trixie just collapsed, laying herself on the floor and putting her front hooves behind her head. "Hey rose, wanted to ask something?" trixie asked, rose was in the back office of the store grabbing her coat. "Make it quick, we both gotta leave!" she exclaimed, making sure trixie heard her. "Well…. Why do you like me?" trixie asked, there was a silence between the two and then trixie realised why….. "Could you say that again!" she exclaimed, trixie groaned and then tried to ask the question again "why do you like me!" she exclaimed, once again silence was the only thing present in the room. She then heard harsh hoofsteps approaching her location and then rose said "i need you to stand for this" trixie didn't know anything else really to do about that request besides pick herself up. Rose was right in front of her and then she started talking "You're barely on time, occasionally lazy, have an insanely low tolerance, arrogance is definitely a big one….." the more rose went on, the more trixie's face was one more of pain then anger. "But… you responsible, funny, kind, whip smart and a loyal friend" when rose finished, even if she was building up all of the negative for a positive payoff, trixie was still in an odd state. "You're not a bad person, i wish the whole town knew the trixie that i know" rose said in a voice of frustration. Trixie said nothing and was preparing to leave. Rose then tried to get her attention "are you alright?" she asked out of genuine concern, trixie only turned around and gave a small nod. Before trixie could even walk towards the front door, rose passed by her and held the door open. Trixie just looked at her in complete confusion and went through the door, making her way back to the treehouse she's currently staying in. Rose glared at her with a look of concern before moving along her own direction… back inside the store.

Sure the night looks pretty in her eyes, the lights cascading the streets and whatever else grabs her attention. There is one fact about ponyville that never changes and that's how insanely cold it gets during the night. That's why the young mare was dashing through the streets and actually looking forward to seeing the dragon open the door. He was the only one that didn't judge her at first sight, even when knowing what she did. She only really appreciated that because it gives her a break from most of the population hating her. 2 inhabitants out of probably hundreds or thousands that actually like her existence. Something concerned her about the drake, she couldn't quite put her finger on it and it was slowly irritating her. Trixie could see how much time she was running out of based on the vendor lights slowly turning out while she was running. She finally reached at least the front of the treehouse and was ready to knock on the door. However, she paused for a second, thinking that she hears a faint voice. She look up and saw what looked like an outside deck. "Might have to go out there one day" she said to herself. She finally knocked on the door and she was greeted by the drake. Then trixie's body suddenly had a realisation, she ran almost 3 miles with no breaks or pauses until she got to the door. "Please tell me i have a room to die in?" trixie asked, spike just nodded and trixie walked inside. As she was making her way to see her new room, something really dawned on her. "Damn, i've had nothing to eat….." she thought to herself, "maybe i could make…" she was about to say but then something else came to mind. Why do something yourself when others can do it for you? However, she needed the satisfaction of towering over someone. "And where are you going?"

Trixie just took a couple seconds to admire her new room, "i don't know about anything else but the dragon can clean" she said to herself. The floors were spotless, the cushion looked decently comfy, and she even had her own closet. She wasn't really sure how much that closet would really be used for beside her cape and hat. Her hat isn't really something she wears anymore, occasionally she'll put it on for fun but most of the time it's a dust collector. She opened the bag she brought with her that was nicely placed next to the cushion to find said hat. She placed it on her head and without even looking into a mirror, she made the determination of keeping the hat off for now. She decided to lay on the cushion and it was probably the most comfortable thing she's been on in a year. "Why would someone….. Do this for me?" trixie asked herself, the idea of genuine care for her is such a foreign concept. She's done terrible things to his friends, someone would even call her a villain. That isn't even a thing for spike and that slowly makes her nervous for reasons beyond her own comprehension. "Trixie!, food is ready!" spike exclaimed, trixie lifted herself from the cushion and made her way downstairs to claim the food she requested. As she was walking downstairs, she got a peek of the food that was prepared for her. She wasn't really expecting much in the first place but at least the omelet she saw on the table looked really well done. She finally made it downstairs and took her seat on the table, giving the omelet a look of pure lust. She then looked down and remembered that she has hooves and spike just gave her a handmade fork and knife. She then glanced at him and saw spike give a smirk of satisfaction,  
"Did this idiot forget i'm a unicorn?" trixie thought to herself and she used her magic to levitate the tools and cut herself a piece of the omelet. "Him doing that, what if this omelet has some kind of draconic poisoning too it" trixie thought, honestly thinking that this was some kind of assassination attempt. Even with that possibility in her head, she placed the piece in her mouth and was ready for what was coming to her. Apparently celestia didn't think this was her time because the omelet ended up being the complete opposite of poison. It was probably the best tasting food she's had in years, the flavor just melted in her mouth and she was enjoying every moment in was in her maw. Time was actually spent to make a decent piece of food for her and she could atleast try to compliment him. "You did well with this i'll admit….." she tried to say but complimenting someone while having your face filled with food isn't the best idea. "Please just finish eating first, that's really gross" spike replied, this did two things for trixie, annoyed and patronized her. It was a mistake, a simple error in her manners and she's deserved scolding like a mere child? Not only that, he completely rejected the compliment she tried to throw his way. "Even when i give you a compliment, it's not enough for you" she said, this was her best way of communicating those feelings of embarrassment she was harboring. Then, he committed the most violent atrocity in her book, he gave of a chuckle in her expense. "I wasn't telling a joke, why are you laughing?!" she thought to herself, then she realized that she was the joke right now. "I'm not a joke….. I'm not a joke….. You're the real fool here!" she was screaming in her head, this was when she bit back with a venomous ferocity to her statement "Who are you laughing at, lowly dragon!" trixie knew she hit nerve by just looking at his twisted up face, this was payback on her end. "Hey!, i have a name and your going to use it!" spike exclaimed, this was the only thing that he really started defending himself for.

The thing the was bothering her finally came to mind, it was completely clear as day. She really dislikes how much of a stupid pushover he is. The only thing he seems to really value in her mind is his name. This demand for respect is completely underserved from her, you don't just get respect in her mind. "Oh, so now you grow a backbone" she replied, suddenly he saw the face of someone who was seething mad….. Turn to a face of defeat. This satisfied her to see someone who was mocking her, grovel underneath her like the worm… "i...i have a backbone" spike replied with a shaky voice. This is wonderful for her, now all she needs is the killing blow and she can teach this lowly drake a lesson. "Why am i here then?" she asked, still feeling the absolute power of humiliating her opponent. Silence, the silence that gave her confirmation of a win and filled her bloodlust. "Well, that's what he gets, making fun of me….. Humiliating me….. Treating me like scum!" might as well back her thoughts with evil laughter at this point, she was ready to make her exit from the table. "Cause if i wasn't nice, you would already be packing" spike replied, with an amount of audible frustration. Then things started reclicking into trixie mind, the bloodlust turned to bitter and depressive regret. The only thing that spike has been to her is nice and she made an honest effort to hurt him more than she was hurt. "Forgot about that, he actually did face a diamond dog and saved me, that takes at least some backbone…" she thought to herself. This how trixie operates sometimes, the simple idea of someone laughing at her expense bothers the crap out of her. Her emotions don't communicate easy, she automatically tried to go for spike's throat without even thinking. "Why couldn't i…." another thought passed by, the regrets started piling up insanely fast. She needed to do something but apologizing was totally off the table in her mind. She was slowly running out of time, spike was already heading up the stairs annoyed with her. "Hey…." she said in what seemed to be a barely audible tone, spike just kept walking up the stairs. "Don't worry about the dishes, i'll get to them" still in a low tone, spike didn't even stop and that actually peeved her. "I have no right though" she said to herself, picking up the dishes and making good on her word.

 _Present time_

She was sitting on the town square bench, already making the decision of skipping out on work today. Even if she thinks talking to rose would make her feel the least bit better, it's still something she's gonna decide against. "Why now, why am i starting to feel regretful now?" she thought to herself. Maybe it's the occasional voices that make it their duty to point out past mistakes of hers or just the time that passes by. Improvement is something that trixie has been giving an amount of time into, her having at least one friend now shows that. She even remembers how excited she was when she managed to get rose to trust and befriend her. She remembers the long days and nights she spent working with rose to repair her shop and have it habitable for business. However, that wasn't instant at the time but trixie didn't give a damn about instant. She is back to this town but why?, all it does is bring the worst possible mare out of her. During her self reflection she felt a slight tap on her shoulder, so fast that it barely felt like anyone was there. She looked up to find a familiar light pink mane hiding behind a tree next to the bench. "Hey… i'm not here to hurt anyone….. At Least not anymore" she said, it took a couple seconds but slowly the mare revealed herself. Trixie's heart dropped, she wasn't expecting her to be the one behind that bush. "T. ?" she asked, shuddering in fear while asking her. It's funny, she's just as scared of her as fluttershy is scared of trixie. "Um…. yeah" she replied, fluttershy let out a very audible gulp and that didn't help trixie's fear either. I mean she is a pony whose last experience they had together was being her slave. "How…. but why?!" this time she exclaimed her disgust, trixie wanted to scream in her direction but that's not gonna get her out of this.

"I'm not here to hurt anyone, i promise you fluttershy" trixie said, trying to calm fluttershy down but then she realized something. If you really believe your in danger from one of your previous enemies, why would you not only approach them but not bring backup or even guards? The shuttering slowly stopped and of all things she took a seat next to her, of course with distance but still. "Where were you heading?" trixie asked, fluttershy was silent and she had every right to be silent in trixie's mind. "I'm not here to collect…" trixie was about to say but then fluttershy interjected "and…. How am i supposed to be sure of that?" fluttershy was looking down on the floor while sitting next to her, almost making her presence pointless. "Why are you sitting next to me?" trixie asked, firing a point blank at her. She was in thought and her being here without at least trying to make conversation is a waste of her personal time out here. "I…. i was looking for spike" she nervously replied, it's like she had a change of heart but wasn't really sure about that change. "Oh….." talking about spike was almost like a bitter pill in trixie's mind. "You were looking down… i… i wanted to see what's wrong" fluttershy said, answering trixie's question after spilling where her destination was. They don't call her the element of kindness for no reason at all. "Fluttershy….. I'm sor….." it's almost like that was the first thing fluttershy expected to hear as she interjected "i forgive you, i don't trust you….. But i forgive you" that made trixie's heart a little less heavy hearing that from her, trust is still important to her but not enough to deny this acceptance currently. "Hey… do you think i can change?" trixie asked fluttershy, fluttershy paused for a second, grimaced at remembering her past enslavement and replied "you….. I believe anyone can change…." fluttershy seemed to become more and more comfortable talking to trixie. Trixie nodded and replied "thanks…. I kinda needed that actually" she replied with earnest and that actually made fluttershy slightly smile. "Good, i'm glad it helped, i gotta get going" fluttershy rose out of her seat and continued on her path towards the library. Trixie wasn't sure what made fluttershy change her tone and actually be glad to help her, but she doesn't look a gift horse in the mouth. She has a feeling that the others wouldn't be as friendly to her but that's an issue for another day. Trixie still wasn't sure about the advice she gave her but if that came from someone who previously feared her, it's worth an extra thought. Then of all things, her stomach started growl. "Guess food takes priority for now" trixie thought to herself, making the cakes her first destination for food and making spike her second thing to worry about.

It was quiet ,almost pleasantly so for the young drake. However, that wasn't the case for his currently active mind. His thoughts were all about how to currently approach trixie and fix things. He was currently on the outside deck, hoping that would help him clear his mind and come up with a solution. He still has no answer on why he should be actually helping the jerk normal ponies would call a mare. Still, a emotional puzzle is a puzzle to the drake and it's currently begging to be solved. While he was doing these mental gymnastics, spike happened to see fluttershy approaching the door outside. "What is she doing here?" spike asked himself before realizing he forgot to check in on her like usual. He made his way downstairs and was looking at the door, wondering if he should wait for her to knock. Before that thought could go on for too long, she knocked. Spike opened the door and said "i'm so sorry i didn't come to visit, just been a bit tied up lately" spike said. Fluttershy nodded and replied reassuringly "it's fine, really" the smile that came along with it gave spike an unusual amount of comfort. Spike was thinking something but quickly dismissed it immediately. "So…. uhhh…." spike forgot what he was gonna say, or that's what he would like to say. "Am i….. Tonguetied?" spike thought to himself, this stray thought was starting become a solid idea. "Yeah, how are you doing?" spike finally remembered what he wanted to say. "Better actually, it's why i am here…" fluttershy replied with her soft voice starting to fade. "What's wrong now?, i can't deal with too much in one day?" spike thought to himself but the message he was gonna received was different from his expectation. "Would you….. Like to come shopping with me?" fluttershy blurted out. Now usually this wouldn't be a big deal, spike invited her for a pickup before but something in spike is making him nervous. "Sure…. When do you wanna go?" spike seemed less in control with his response to her. "Now would be preferred…. Unless that's inconvenient for you?" she asked, considerate about the drake's time, which spike really valued right now. "Not at all, got nothing to do anyways!" spike exclaimed, almost eager to take a trip with her. "Ok, i hope you can help me carry things" she replied, with a soft smile attached to her response. This made spike feel slightly warmer inside and it obviously showed with the goofy grin he gave in return. Fluttershy chuckled and made her way out the door, motioning her head for spike to come along. "What's going on with me today?... Maybe it's just seeing a nice face" spike thought to himself, hoping it's not the conclusion he thinks it is. Right when he was thinking about fluttershy, he remembered that trixie is still renting here. "Hey fluttershy, i gotta do something really quick before we go!" spike exclaimed, fluttershy nodded and spike went to grab a piece of paper and a quill. "Might as well make her aware she's not kicked out" spike thought to himself, leaving one burden at the doorstep before leaving with a potential second burden on his mind.

 **Author's note: I've been posting a couple chapters and forgot the most important part, addressing the audience. thank you for reading, I've been sitting on this story for a month and it's really nice to see readers. feedback is always appreciated, leave a review if you want to, it's the most visible way for me to see who's enjoying the story or not. chapters will be longer and after the sixth chapter, slight slowdown might occur. once again, thank you for reading my story :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: leave enough alone, part 2

"Market is pretty busy today, huh?" fluttershy asked spike, observing the town square from a bench. They haven't even got a chance to start their shop based on how crowded this specific day was. "Well in between season changes, it tends to be more busy" spike replied, fluttershy nodded in response. Spike finally had something to be excited about, summer is basically around the corner now. "So…. what's been going on?" fluttershy asked, usually this was spike's question for her but he obliged her. "Nothing really….." spike paused, wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to tell her. The pause didn't necessarily help his case, it's basically just screamed "i'm hiding something,please investigate!". She's not a dense mare, so she picked up on this little pause and asked "are you alright?". Spike nodded and replied "just thought about how empty my calendar is…." adding a fake laugh and at least that made her chuckle. He wasn't sure if it's was because of the joke or how stupid his fake laugh is. "Well if we want to come back with anything, might as well get going" spike said, trying to get moving and fluttershy nodded in reply. As spike was about to get up, fluttershy tapped his shoulder and that gained his attention. "I… i'll give you the same luxury you give me…." fluttershy was trying to say, spike noticed the amount of pause that was in her sentence. "You don't owe me…" spike was about to reply with a bitterness in his voice until fluttershy interjected "i'm you friend, we're still at least half a team, you can talk to me" these were the words that he expected but some kind of weight was added to her words, spike then turned around to face her and tried to reply "well…." well, that's all he managed to get out before actually looking at her. "This flustered crap is getting annoying" spike thought to himself, so he decided to turn himself around and replied with his back turned "i guess that's true…". Spike not knowing how to be subtle, only ticked her suspicion more then needed. "You might be sick, i'll get you some ginger root while we're shopping" fluttershy said as she lifted herself from the bench. "That's fluttershy for you, sometimes i thank celestia for her blind kindness, and genuine nature, and soft smile, matter of fact she doesn't look…." spike immediately stopped his train of thought and lifted himself off of the bench. Spike and fluttershy walked side by side, ready to maneuver around the large crowds in the market.

"Went out with fluttershy, no worries and no need to apologize, i'll be fine" trixie read the letter out loud that spike left on the front of the door. This is the 3rd time that she read it, this is if she's counting the times she read it in her head. This lifted a minor weight off her back but the part that'll never be lifted is whether she deserves forgiveness. These thoughts, however, are usually put way in the back burner to keep moving from day to day for her. "If she did it, then everyone should, right?" trixie asked herself, wondering how selfish asking for simple forgiveness actually would be. "That's nothing to think about right now, let's see what this town has to offer for fu….." as she was saying that, she remembered the current scenario. Nobody would let her really do anything without making her feel guilt that she already owns. This left her with a limited amount of options when it comes to a mare's only day. "I'll just…. Stay here, i already had enough time outside" she said to herself, making her way upstairs. She was on the original pace to her room but then on her way she saw the stargazing deck. "Interesting place to relax….." she thought to herself and changed direction.

"This was definitely a good idea" trixie said to herself. The sun was beating in her face, the wind was flowing perfectly through her mane, it was the tell tale sign of summer coming around. The lounge chair was also a nice fit to her actual surprise. She was looking out at the town and saw many of the different ponies working and playing their part in the town. It was almost looking at a miniature universe which she is the center of. As she was looking out of this view and seeing all these things,this made her unearth a feeling she never thought possible "this place….. I really feel at home here" she thought to herself. Of all places to pick a home for, she picks the place where almost half of the population either fear or hate her. She was melting into the lounge chair, trying to fight the urge to start sleeping. "I've been scattering all over the place for awhile now, for once, atleast for a moment, peace has come to me…." these were the last thoughts of trixie before she fell into a slumber.

"I could give you 2 apples for 6 bits and that's as low as i go" a local fruit stand owner was arguing. Spike wasn't buying it but didn't have the nerve to speak out about it, fluttershy wasn't buying it either but there is a stark difference between the two. "I know what you doing, just please, 4 or 5 is the best i can do" fluttershy replied, almost begging for this last part of her shopping to get done. The stand owner started laughing, this slightly annoyed spike. "being a jerk is funny for him" spike thought to himself. "Since you're begging… 8 bits for one!" the owner exclaimed, exploding in laughter. The drake finally had enough, "how about three bits?" spike said, fluttershy looked at him with disbelief. "Oh really?, and how's that gonna be possible?" the clerk asked, mocking the dragon. Spike isn't necessarily a baby dragon anymore, he's grown quite a height on him. He's at least 2 feet higher than he was before, bringing him at least a foot higher than the average stallion. This allowed him to have the ability to take on a scarier appearance when provoked. This is one of the only times he has used any of that to his advantage. He flared one of his fangs and stood a little taller "because unlike you, she has a dragon on her side" he said in a threatening tone and finished the show by blowing a small and really harmless flame. The stand owner was shaking and his pride was fully destroyed as he replied "keep the bits if you want, i'll give you three apples!" he exclaimed, quickly placing the three apples on the counter and then crouching behind it. While spike took the three apples, fluttershy placed 3 bits on the table as they both walked away. Spike looked back at her action, still willing to give her hard earned bits to someone who wronged her. This was another reason why spike really started to admire her., "honestly, i would have took the fruit for free" spike said to her, fluttershy quickly turned and replied "if i…. Or we did that, were no better than him" she made her stance firm with her voice, spike then nodded in reply. She turned around with the same amount of quickness and kept walking. Spike had an idea that maybe she was upset with him, "i have to stop her, i don't want her to be upset with me" spike thought, he thought maybe the bench in the middle of town would be a good place to stop her.

"Fluttershy, maybe you should slow down for a second?" spike asked, she ignored his plea to slow down. "I wanna make sure i didn't burn anything when i….." spike said, all he heard was fluttershy give off a large sigh. "Ok, we'll take a seat at the bench over there" she replied, with a level of frustration in her voice. Spike saw the bench she was talking about and followed her to that location. He now started feeling regretful about the actions he took with the shop owner and it was all because of the disappointment in her face. He took a seat next to her and started checking the bags, hoping to sneak a conversation in. "look, he was obviously trying to get one over you and i needed to do…." before he could even finish the sentence…. "I…. i'm not mad spike, it's just, i don't want anyone to fear me…" she said, looking down at ground. Spike heard small sniffles coming from fluttershy and this made him feel way worse then he already did. "Fluttershy…." spike tried to call out, the only response he heard was more small sniffles. She finally looked up at him, looking completely hurt inside, without making a single tear. "They fear me, not you, never you" spike said, looking straight into her eyes. "That's supposed to be better…" she replied, all emotion drained from her voice. "Yeah…. It's just…. How do i put this….?" spike was stumbling in his words again. He was stuck on what words he wanted to say besides….."you do stupid things for people you care about" spike replied, slowly looking down in embarrassment. Fluttershy was silent, almost as if she was in her own thoughts.

 _Last night, the very last night before everything changed and it was full of celebration. The dark nights of the treehouse library changed into a place bursting with party lights and color. Streamers were spread from the main desk area to every shelf in the library. This being something twilight allowed for even one night made it special. Loud party music was the only thing your heard with only the slight whispers of conversation, screaming was the only way to have a dialogue with someone. The google wearing dj didn't care, none of her friends cared, no one around her was bothered by it besides her and the drake sitting parallel to her. "Why does it have to be so loud?" she asked in annoyance, spike nodded and replied with heavy sarcasm "ehh, i'll just let the atmosphere of celebration pass me by" him and fluttershy gave off a light chuckle. It took the looming threat of change for spike and fluttershy to actually start hanging out more. The irony of this sentiment is that they both might be moving on to larger ventures and maybe that's what kicked them both into gear. "So, find out what you'll be doing after this whole thing ends?" spike asked her, fluttershy thought for a moment before replying "i… haven't received any offer, unlike everyone else so….. Staying here" there was obvious disappointment in her voice and spike didn't take an affinity for her when she's like this. Speaking of affinity, rarity was moving along to their table with her new coltfriend. "Spikey!, is that you?!" she asked, it's been atleast a year since they've seen each other. Fluttershy barely heard her but all she had to do is turn to spike and see him looking almost sickly when looking at them. He lightly slapped himself and forced a smile before they both came close enough to see. "Oh my gosh, rarity!, it's been so long!" spike replied, going in for a hug in his mind but was put off by the almost stern look her colt had. "How's it been, everybody must be dying to see…." rarity didn't even finish her sentence before seeing fluttershy on the other side of the table. She didn't even need to say a word to her, the embrace was coming from a mile away. As she hugged her, fluttershy just looked at spike and for a split second she saw sadness before he smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Before we all talk, i specifically want to talk to you spike, i think you'll like what i'll propose to you" rarity said after letting go of fluttershy. Spike walked away with rarity for this talk but still quickly looked back at fluttershy, it was almost like something was already on his mind before rarity had anything to say to them._

"Spike, it's fine, just tell me one thing…." fluttershy said, intentionally speeding through him apologizing. "Yeah?" spike replied, fluttershy took a deep breath and replied "what did rarity talk to you about that night?" spike took a second, wondering if this is something that he should tell her. Spike only had one simple sentence to reply with "i had no intention of going to manehatten to be rarity's assistant". Immediately everything made sense to her…. "You dropped everything….." spike already saw where her sentence is going and just finished it for her "to make sure you'd turn out ok….at least that where things started…." spike furiously looked at the ground, trying to hide the red that was slowly growing throughout his face. Fluttershy was wondering why he was looking at the ground until she finally put together was he was trying to say. This gave way to her own version of shyness and blushing, both weren't the bastions of comfort right now. The surprising first one to actually speak however….. "Of course, it would have been always yes spike" fluttershy said, looking directly at the drake with a newborn energy, a fire in her eyes. "Yes, what?" spike whipped his head up, looking straight at her. Fluttershy lifted her hooves towards her face, letting out a muffled scream and replied "did i read that wrong!, oh no!" she said these words at a speed spike didn't even think possible. Spike grabbed her and replied "it's ok, i was joking!" fluttershy stopped freaking out and paused, then they both started laughing. After getting over the initial misunderstanding, they we're both stuck with exposed feelings for each other. "So… what's next, am i….." fluttershy started and then spike jumped "unless you don't wanna be?" she appreciated the amount of courtesy, false or not. "No regrets, marefriend it is!" she exclaimed, expressing excitement at the new path. Spike was genuinely shocked at the lack of restraint in her emotions but that shock didn't last for long. "I…. well….." spike was trying to find the next thing to propose. Fluttershy then interjected "how about we start with food?" she looked upon him with a beaming smile. Spike was blown away with the amount of adorable looking right at him "uh… yeah, let's do that!" spike exclaimed in reply. The newly joined couple lifted themselves off the bench and made their way to the nearest diner.

" _Lulamoon…." an unknown voice called to her. Nothing but a flood of darkness was around her, there was nothing else to see or hear besides this voice. "Wha….. but my…. First…." the young mare tried to respond to this disembodied voice but barely anything came out of her "i know your first name but i prefer your last…" the voice replied, this baffled trixie, no one has ever said something of this nature to her. "Oh…. i get it….. Dream" she replied in the most simple of grammatical structure. "I don't visit you as often, cause you're never really at….." trixie regained enough energy to interrupt her. "Doesn't matter….., why can't i…" she still was struggling to bring an amount of structure to her words. "I'm aware of the issue but it's something only in your control" the voice replied, before trixie could even respond to her idea….._

Trixie was jolted out of her sleep on the chair, she had lost connection to whatever place she was in. "first dream in half a year" she said to herself. As she was slowly regaining her bearings, she realized the darkness that was in front of her outside. She was mentally slapping herself for sleeping that long but then another question popped up in her head. "Where's the dragon?" trixie asked herself, it's at least been a couple hours and she didn't even hear a creak at the door. Of course the first thought that popped up in her head was abandonment, "that'll mean this treehouse is mine until one of his friends starts asking questions….." she thought to herself but then quickly shook that idea away. "Fluttershy was on her way to visit spike for a shopping trip with him, shopping dosen't take this….. No!" she exclaimed and starting bursting into laughter. "Not him and her, definitely not!" the idea was so ridiculous to her that she almost gave herself a heart attack with just the humor of that alone. She decided to look out to see if the drake was anywhere outside and finally trixie saw spike. Him and fluttershy were walking side by side, seeming to be having the time of their lives. "Hmm…almost looks like a date" she said to herself, chuckling after finishing that statement. Once she saw fluttershy besides him, she bolted from her position and made her way back inside.

Spike was one to always put old sayings into scrutiny, most of these sayings were pretty much idiotic in his eyes. However, after the day that this drake had, he at least found new meaning in one of these sayings. "Times flies when you're having fun….." spike thought to himself, glancing at the smiling mare beside him. It was actually her that noticed the sky slowly starting to darken and usually that would be something he noticed. "Today was great for me spike" fluttershy said in the most sing song way. Spike nodded and said in reply "same here, it's just….." spike was stuck in a thought. This was his very first time having a marefriend or even being on a minor date. "When do we go out again?" spike finally finished said thought, fluttershy stopped for a second before reaching the front of the treehouse. "Hmmm…." it seemed as if her schedule was filling up in her head the moment dating became a prospect. "Two days from now, wednesday sounds good for me" she replied, spike was relieved at how instant the answer was. Spike still had doubt on whether or not she actually liked him but that's a different issue for later. As they finally reached the doorstep, they both looked at each other, expecting a move from the one beside them. "So… i guess this is goodbye for now" spike was the first one to talk, he was shifting his feet the entire time while speaking. "Ok…. i can't wait till next time!" fluttershy excitingly replied, spike was witness to a completely different mare then years ago. Spike had his hand on the door and before he could even turn around, she was gone. "Interesting….." spike thought, he was really expecting at least a peck on the cheek. He shrugged it off and made his way inside the treehouse, the first thing he sees is an impatient trixie sitting in one of the living room chairs. Spike looked at the scenario and with all the good luck flying around, he cracked a smile and found a seat in the living room.

"Hey….." trixie said softly, not even wanting to look him in the eye. Spike was puzzled by her tone, it was the most unlike her he's ever seen. "Where's the pride, the big theatrics, aren't you better at this then me…" spike replied sarcastically, he thought for sure that this would get a reaction out of her. "The note….. Did you mean it?" trixie replied, with the same softer tone she had before. It was almost like she completely ignored him mocking her. It was just a letter and to spike, the answer to her question was pretty clear… "yeah, of course, no hard feelings" spike replied, trixie nodded and looked as if she was gonna say something profound. "It can't be that easy….." she said to herself, spike obviously heard the mare speaking next to him. "For me it is" spike replied, trixie was shocked that he even heard her. "It's….. You know what, i'll take it" trixie replied, taking a breath and sinking deeper in the chair. "Did you have some kind of day?" spike asked, trixie glanced over at him and replied "i guess…." referring to all of the mental gymnastics she took in the first half of the day and her odd dream. They were both in a completely awkward silence until spike spoke up. "Do you genuinely want to improve the relationship with the ponies of this town, start completely fresh?" spike asked , trixie immediately perked up from her seat and gave a rapid nod in reply. "Then we need to start working, community service is always something anypony apperciaties!" spike said in excitement, trixie winced at the idea of hard work but saw the drake's point. "I know, work isn't anyone's favorite thing to do, but it is your best shot at redemption, i wouldn't suggest it otherwise" spike replied, trixie pondered it for a moment and decided to put her trust into spike. "Ok…. new start, got it" she replied, putting an unorthodox amount of weight into those words. This made the drake actually smile,thinking that he's actually given a task that would really benefit someone, his own kind of friendship mission. Trixie was actually infected by the same amount of excitement, a brand new path to walk through. "Oh yeah, been meaning to ask, did you go on a date with…..". Before she could even finish the question… "well…. yeah, no need to keep that secret" spike replied, trixie only had one response to the drake's nonchalant revelation "oh….. wow, never would have guessed". Spike shrugged and replied "same here, but when you feel it, you feel it, know what i mean". A pleasant surprise for the drake, trixie nodded in agreement. For the very first time in trixie's long and complicated life, she started having a normal conversation with the dragon. Two enemies years ago, sitting down and having a conversation, an interesting start to what'll be and interesting friendship.

 **Author's note: I kinda wanted to write this chapter like an ending to an opening arc. this doesn't mean that the next chapter isn't coming out soon, expect a new chapter tomorrow. thanks for reading, leave a review** **so i** **can see you. ha!** **it rhymes :) damn, this chapter ended up way** s **horter then it looked while writing it. no worries, the next one will sure make up for it.**

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: electric sky

3 weeks later

"I'm sorry but nobody really wants you around their property" a genuinely remorseful spike said, really wanting the proposal he made before to be possible. "Are you just realizing that ponies don't like me!" trixie yelled at the poor drake. This type of bickering was the only thing that you heard when it came to the subject. "Don't kill the messenger, maybe you should be better at public relations!" spike snapped back. Trixie looked like she was fuming, lacking the patient to wait for an opportunity. Spike took a deep breath and thought to himself "these kind of things are usually hard, i just need to find a way". This was the thought that he needed to repeat for these past two weeks, dealing with a irritable trixie. "Look….. These kind of things take time and you need to realize the work i'm doing for you here" spike replied in a calmer tone, trixie noticed this and gave off a sigh of her own. "Sorry, it's just…. this isn't the first time i hit this roadblock" trixie replied with a huff of frustration. Spike took a seat in the main living room, trying to put together some kind of strategy. Trixie made her way towards him and said "why don't you just give up, i've done that a long time ago….". The snide nature in her comment peeved him in the wrong way, "i can help her, all things take time" spike thought to himself, preventing him from snapping at her once again. "I can't….. It's not what i do" spike replied to her, this gave the mare a puzzled look. "What i do?, the hell does that mean?". trixie thought to herself but at the same time….. "Ok…. patience, i got it" trixie replied in frustration, spike then sighed as a sign of relief on his part and replied "don't worry, i'll keep looking, i promise!" spike exclaimed while signaling a thumb ups. Trixie chuckled and thought to herself "the dragon….. seems genuine". "Totally stupid, what you just did there" she replied, spike nodded and replied "i know, felt you needed something to make fun of". Trixie hid a small smirk away from the drake. Then both of them heard a knock on the door, spike had an idea who was at the door and a rush of excitement flew through him. 'Go upstairs, i'll signal you when the coast is clear!" spike quietly exclaimed, trixie let out a sigh of disbelief and made her way upstairs. Two weeks and spike's new marefriend doesn't even know that trixie takes residence at his treehouse. Spike opened the door and was greeted with a hug from an expected visitor. "Hi!" she exclaimed. One really important thing changed about fluttershy ever since these two paired up and it's a very noticeable change….. "You ready to go, i found the perfect place to go today!" it's a excitement for everyday, not enough to classify her as a full pinkie pie but definitely a different step from her usual self. "Of course, anywhere is fine with you…." spike said, gaining a rapidly growing heat on his face. This made her slightly turn away as well, they were both still getting used to being in a much closer relationship. "Alright then, let's get going" spike said, fluttershy nodded in reply as they both made their way out the door. Soon as the door shut, trixie saw that as her signal and made her way back downstairs.

It's only started yesterday that the mare decided to go on more outings. The boredom of stashing herself in the treehouse for even just a day after work bored her. So, she created her own little loop of things to do everyday. She went to work, roamed the town square, relaxed on a park bench, got something to eat and made her way back. "Hey….. about last time, you feeling alright trix….." her boss rose was about to ask, this was the first time an actual question was presented ever since the last incident. Rose has been taking more and more expeditions for lost and rare things. These expeditions took more priority then running her own store, the random passerby wouldn't be mistaken by thinking this is trixie's store. "Yeah, been up to a lot more lately" trixie replied to her friend in the most matter of fact way. This relieved the young shop owner for now, hoping that this new mood would be here to stay. "Cool, really, i'm glad for you" rose replied, trixie nodded and started moving a box of things rose collected from her journeys to the back room of the store. "Oh, i was gonna ask you to do that….." rose said in surprise, she was almost making her role as a boss irrelevant. Rose looked at the clock on the wall and trixie was already aware of what that meant. "Go on, have an adventure, i'll watch the store" trixie said playfully, swatting her away with a hoof. This made rose chuckle and make her way out the door with the same goodbye she gave trixie every work day. After she left, trixie sighed and made her way to the front service desk, expecting no type of service for the day. "It's amazing, i can get away with being payed for nothing on days like these….". The moment she finished this sentence a customer came through the door, making the mare eat her own words. There was something odd about the mare that came in for service. She was wearing a grey hood that was covering her face and body, this reminded trixie of her own days in hiding. She was roaming around in a very speedy manner, as if she was looking for something important. The mare didn't even ask trixie for any assistance, it was almost like trixie wasn't in the room in her eyes. "Hello?" trixie asked and called out. This was what made the mare freeze in her tracks and turn around to look at her. The eyes of this stranger were of a familiar blue color to her but she couldn't put her mind to why it was familiar. Trixie had to say something, cause all they were doing was staring at each other and for her it was kinda weird. "It just seemed as if you needed some kind of help, i could help you, i know this store pretty well" trixie said. She looked around for a second, seeming like she ignored her again but then finally addressed her "No, not really, i could find it myself darl….." the stranger stopped herself quickly. Trixie was confused about this but she passed it off as just a slip of the tongue. The mysterious mare finally asked trixie a question "hey, would you mind giving me your name?". The mare asked the question with a very familiar accent. "Kinda posh, if i'm being specific….." trixie thought to herself, she almost completely forgot about the question being asked to her. "Are you ok?" the mare in front of her asked, this snapped trixie back into reality.

"Oh yeah, my name, trixie, trixie lulamoon" trixie replied, the mare in front of her seemed frozen in shock from this revelation. Trixie played the only card in her hand and that was to be completely upfront with the mystery mare. If someone were to be pissed enough at her to make an attempt on her life, she'd face that attempt head on without fear. "Really… but…. Why are you….." the mare in front of her could barely piece together a sentence. "Look, if you came all the way here for some kind of fight, my magic is a little rusty but my hooves don't tell the same story" trixie replied, doing the one thing that got her out of multiple situations, acting. "Really now, why are you shaking then?" the mare in front of her asked. It seems as if both of them were putting up some kind of tough front for each other. Trixie saw this visible flaw in her threat, fear, fear has never been her best contained attribute. "What…. What do you want from me?" trixie asked in a annoyed tone. This is when the mare finally dropped her hood to reveal herself to trixie and it was…. "What i want, is for you to stay away from any of my friends!" the purple mane that flew from the hood belonged to someone quite clear in her mind. "Rarit….." before she could even finish the name, a lit unicorn horn was pointed at her face, ready to eviscerate her at a moment's notice.

"It really turned out to be a nice day, huh?" spike asked fluttershy, who were lying side by side on a fully bloomed flowery field. Fluttershy nodded and replied "this is where i always used to go when i needed time away, funny how much time i didn't have away" this made them both laugh and then spike said "i guess so, we were all on call frequently back then, especially when princesshood became a thing for twilight…." talking about that princesshood was something that became a kind of sensitive subject in his mind. "You know you had an importance on the team, right?" fluttershy . "Can't really hide anything from you, huh?" spike thought to himself before replying to her. asked"Well, it's not that, i'm not vain or anything but i feel like a sidekick to my own story" spike replied, fluttershy nodded and looked up at the sky. "I'm not perfect spike, i still crumble in most situations, assertion is still a balance for me and i feel lonely without them from time to time.." fluttershy started saying, spike had his attention completely on her. Even if he didn't know what the point was, he was still invested with what she was saying. "If there is one thing that i know is true, that this story right now, it's mine and will always be mine, i'm responsible for whatever comes my way and that's a story waiting to happen all in itself, the six was us working as friends , not our identity" fluttershy finished. Spike never believed that fluttershy didn't have anything profound inside of her but her words were surprisingly in touch with his feelings. "Uh, thanks for that, really, it helped" spike replied to her. This was the reason, spike was instantly remembering why he choose to ask her the question that day. She's just been so understanding and so kind, he couldn't deny the feelings that grew for her during those slower times as a group. Then spike remembered something else, a quite embarrassing something else but it just had to be said. "Hey fluttershy" spike called out the mare's name and she turned to face him. "Did she have to look right me?, this is gonna be hard" spike thought to himself. "We've been on at least two dates…" spike started saying, fluttershy nodded in reply and let him continue. Spike always thought, even back when he was chasing after rarity that fluttershy was a pretty mare. This is where the difficulty is coming from the position of the drake, especially because of what he's asking. "So… is this when we…." spike didn't even need to finish the sentence before fluttershy caught on. She wasn't a dense mare and this sentiment made her blush. "Well… it would be my first one" she replied, spike was relieved that she caught on but nervous with how to respond. "Remember it's an ask, no pressure at all" spike made sure to emphasize that point. Fluttershy nodded and they both looked at each other, the moment seemed perfect between the two. The wind was blowing through the flowers, making them drift among the air between them. The drake didn't necessarily have hair but that same wind flew through her mane perfectly, it almost read like the bookend to a story. As they both leaned in slowly, letting the environment set the mood for them. Soon enough, celestia herself stopped the moment as both of them heard a huge explosion. "What the, did you hear that?!" fluttershy asked, spike nodded and sighed. "well, sorry fluttershy, i gotta go do my thing!" spike exclaimed, rushing to where the explosion came from.

" _Go away!, i don't wanna see you for as long as i live!" "why?, this was everything to me and now it's gone" rose's voice was all trixie heard throughout an empty void. "I'm sorry, i'm so sorry, nothing will ever happen to this shop, not on my watch" trixie just kept hearing a painful memory in her head. "Who cares about your damn protection!" pain started swelling up around her and then she finally….._

Woke up to the environment she was scared to see but was surprised at what was around her. A couple broken plates,most of the glassware that was kept at the shop was actually broken. But no store walls were busted, windows shattered, or anything like that. All she saw was an confused but still angry mare. The only damage that she physically saw was blood running from her nose, this could be due to an overuse in power. "So i'm screwed, looks like i might have to go hoof to hoof with her" trixie thought. Making a crap situation even worse in her head, she was receiving the stress ache that comes from magical withdrawal. Rarity was still pointing an aimed horn at her and exclaimed "why are you here?!" rarity exclaimed, her horn lighting up for another blast. "Seriously, what the hell happened to you!, you weren't this….. Angry!" trixie exclaimed, these weren't the right choice of words for her situation. ""Why you!..." before the blast could go off, she saw a scaley figure dash to shield her. "Stop!, she's ok with me!" based upon the voice tone, she knew exactly who it was. It was almost like an instant transformation happened within rarity, the mare that had intent to kill her. "Spikey?" she said, sounding like she was about to break down. Spike nodded and this what allowed her to rush to the drake and embrace him, fully tearing up at just the sight of him. "It's been too long, really it has!" she exclaimed, the wet tears were starting to become bothersome for the drake but honestly the shock of her being here is weighing on him. As she let go, spike asked the first question "wha…. What are you doing here?" spike asked in disbelief. Rarity then replied with a simple answer "things have been rough for me in manehatten… so i wanted to come a visit". Trixie then quipped "mysterious hood you wore tells a completely different story". Rarity gave her a quick ill intended glance and then asked spike a question. "So… how have you been doing darling, anything special going on?". "Besides being in a relationship with fluttershy, nothing major" this is what he thought to say but then he wasn't really sure if that's something to tell her yet. "Well….." before he even finished the sentence, rarity chimed in "let's just go back to the treehouse, we can catch up over tea". Spike actually agreed with her and rarity made a trot out of the trading store. She didn't even share any more words with trixie and that even puzzled spike. He turned around and saw the blood running down trixie's nose. Spike looked around the store and found some kind of tissue paper at the front desk and gave it to her. "You gonna be ok here?" spike asked, trixie nodded and replied "go, i'm the one that's gotta clean up anyway" this made spike chuckle and nod, making his way out of the store and leaving the mare to her own devices.

"I almost died and looked who saved my ass again!" trixie thought to herself, sitting on the service desk, waiting for her mana to be restored. She wanted to be self sufficient or maybe it's her drifter lifestyle that lead an ideal like that. She was looking at the complete mess around her and she had a couple questions for this newly visiting rarity. "I thought that the six usually killed people with kindness" trixie thought to herself. The anger and fury that she saw in her eyes was like nothing that she's ever seen. The intent to kill someone is not an easy task nor a task that she would think the legendary heroes of equestria would be capable of. The hood also threw the mare off, it simply being some kind of bad business in manehatten was a story that she didn't buy. She was surprised about being outspoken enough to mention this. "Wait, when does rose come back usually?" trixie asked herself. For her, without any type of meditative assistant, just pure recharge by time. It takes her at least a couple hours for a mana recharge and it's only been a couple minutes. If she didn't get any of this clean within the hour, she would hear a lot of things from rose that she wasn't quite ready for. "What really drained my mana that quickly, i didn't even feel like i casted a spell?" trixie asked herself, surprised by the shield she was able to create. Even when she was in her prime, defensive or combat magic was never her specialty. She was a show pony not a combat mage, so where did this power spike come from? As she was thinking about these things, she tested how much ability she had by lifting a piece of plate. "Stupid dragon gave me a tissue but didn't think his thumbs would be useful" trixie muttered to herself, the test proved that she could at least clean messes with her magic. As much ill will she talks about the dragon, she started growing a fondness for him. Having new friends was something that she didn't expect or had any high hopes for. Rose needed something from her, she owed her for the mistakes she made in the past. This has washed away after years of time but this is still something that weighed on her mind. With spike, it's almost like someone is giving her a clean slate, asking for her to prove her worth as a mare of society. "Why, is it that easy?, it can't be?" trixie asked herself but she was a firm believer of not looking a gift horse in the mouth. Doubt is more a reasonable assessment, doubt of living up to any standard put in front of her. The drake didn't say anything to her nor demand anything from her. In Between the bickering about getting her some points with the inhabitants of ponyville, they made decent conversation from time to time. These weren't things that she forgot, it's her temper that gets the better of her sometimes. These were things she was tossing through her mind to make the cleaning process go faster. "I hope….. He's fine" trixie thought to herself, leaving him alone with a seemingly homicidal rarity didn't sit well with her at all.

"It's feels different, different than the last time i was here" rarity said to spike, analyzing the treehouse that she hasn't seen in years. Spike nodded but the only thing his mind was occupied on was fluttershy. "I wish i could of atleast visited her, told her everything's ok" spike thought to himself. If he was being truly honest with himself, rarity wasn't really that much of a priority in his mind anymore. Back in the day, rarity's well being became as important as twilight's, mostly because he didn't really get to know most of the team. Obviously that changed years later when maturity hit the dragon but one thing didn't change in those years. His love for rarity wasn't some kiddish pursuit for him anymore, he was in love with the mare and nothing was stopping him. "It really isn't, well maybe one room changed….." spike replied to her. Spike made sure to not slip his tongue on trixie staying at the treehouse. When it came to rarity, in the end, something did stop his love and it was his own heart breaking over her. It was an inevitable, nothing really dramatic occurred through this ideal. It was honestly something he expected to happen sooner but that didn't mean the effects weren't long standing. "Don't worry sweetie, i brought the tea, just stay there" rarity said in her voice of elegance. That was the same voice that could lead the dragon anywhere with her. He would be lying if he said her voice wasn't still pleasant to listen to. She made her way to the kitchen and it almost seemed like she never left. Spike instinctively went to try and help her but rarity stopped him "don't worry, i know how to work the kitchen spike" she said with a light chuckle. Spike nodded and returned to a seat in the living room, returning his thoughts to fluttershy. "Maybe, fluttershy will find trixie and she'll explain everything correctly" spike thought to himself. There was also this small part of spike's brain that said "come on, chill, it'll be fine". Spike rarely listens to this voice anymore, so many threats that the six had to deal with slowly taught him that. "The tea is almost done, i'll be right there!" rarity exclaimed. Whatever skills that rarity acquired in her time to make tea that fast, he needs for his daily life. "Tea with rarity, if it were back then, i would've gone crazy over that" spike said to himself and chuckled. Rarity then finally came over with two cups of tea on a levitating plate. Spike took his cup and she looked for a place to put the tea. She looked behind her and found something that was missing, it's as if she wasn't paying attention. "What happened to the checkout desk?" rarity asked. Spike was surprised that rarity was the first one to ask this question "if it weren't for moving the desk out, we wouldn't have a living room" spike replied, rarity nodded and put the tray on the ground. She lifted her tea, took a sip and immediately asked spike a hardball question. "What's with you and trixie, seriously darling, that kind of company" she seemed way more uppity than usual but this didn't probe any abnormal reaction out of the drake. "We're friends, she's making an effort to change, a real one" spike replied simply and straight to the point. Rarity nodded and replied "if you trust her, then i'll try to keep the peace". This made spike give off a sigh of relief hearing this from her but….. "Why do i still doubt her?" spike thought to himself. Maybe it's the sheer amount of rage he saw in her eyes is what makes him less of a believer. "Rarity, what was up with almost killing her, seriously" spike asked sternly. Rarity was in the middle of a sip when this is what made her completely freeze. She looked at the drake and put her head down in complete shame but then…. "It's…. Well…. I wanted you to keep a peaceful life, that's all" rarity replied. Her answer made no sense to the drake. So the best way to keep a peaceful life is to know that one of his friends murdered someone in cold blood? Then spike decided to ask in a different way "rarity, please, even if it was just one stupid mistake, tell me the truth please?" spike pleaded with her. Rarity looked at the drake and ended up gaining a little remorse for her lie. "Sorry…. I…. lost control, things…. Haven't been the prettiest in manehatten" rarity replied with a shakiness in her voice. Spike finally was able to believe her but it's these problems that worry spike, naturally. "Ok, but maybe you hit a pillow next time" spike replied as they both laughed. This made the tone of the conversation eons lighter. He isn't going to really try to get anything out of her head about manehatten, he just wants a friendly conversation right now.

"That's the story, everything's fine, as you can see" trixie was addressing a worried fluttershy, who was frantically looking for the dragon. "You're sure, he's just back at the treehouse?" fluttershy asked, this was the third time trixie had to reconfirm this fact. "For the last time, yeah, he's fine" trixie replied, thinking that she would be there already if it weren't for both of these irrational mares. Fluttershy sighed with slight relief but then her eyes shot open and realized the guest that just came to town. "Rarity…, she could…." fluttershy said to herself, trixie was in earshot and she did the unthinkable. "No, he wouldn't be that kind of dragon" trixie said to her, fluttershy looked at her with the same kind of disbelief. "What makes you think that?... And you think that?!" fluttershy asked. Trixie just realized what kind of position this question put her in. however, she decided to continue along with her idea "he thinks about others more than himself, now imagine if in some way, even by accident, the idiot somehow hurt you?" trixie asked, fluttershy nodded and put that thought into her head. "You're right, thank you, honestly" fluttershy replied with a smile. Trixie nodded and made her seat on the service desk. "I guess spike had an effect on you?" fluttershy asked. Trixie wanted to give this question a hard denial but she had trouble instantly denying that. The silence spoke volumes for fluttershy, so she she showed her support for the non answer with a soft smile. "Well, i hope we cross paths again" she said to trixie while leaving the store. "An effect, did he really?" trixie thought to herself. She wanted some kind of change before she even met spike but he did add something. She hasn't really figured this something out,so for know that's a pending investigation in her mind. She finished cleaning the mess in the store a long time ago, "maybe i'll roam around town a little bit, then the house might become vacant" she thought to herself. She took this idea with complete solidity and decided to lock up the store and make a way around town.

They're conversation obviously continued, not everything had to be serious when it came to rarity and spike. These two were separated by lifestyle and time, yet it's like they never left each other in the first place. "Fluttershy!" rarity exclaimed, covering her mouth in disbelief. Spike nodded and looked down in embarrassment. "Seriously, when did this kind of bond start, i thought you two barely talked to each other?" rarity asked. Spike shrugged and replied "when things slowed down, we just started talking more, and also obviously me looking after her down here" rarity had the dumbest grin on her face and the only response she had was… "awwwwwww". Spike just laughed it off, it's only been two dates and he's become more comfortable with them together. "I really do care for her and i want it to last…." he could even finish the sentence before another awww could be heard. "I think i'm killing her" spike thought to himself. While still speaking with her, a knock on the door was heard. Spike's heart immediately dropped, if it were trixie then who knows what rarity would think of him. So spike got up from his seat and went for the door, he took a split second to take in the calm scenario before letting celestia decide his fate. He opened the door and gladly it was fluttershy. "So glad you're ok!" she exclaimed, embracing the dragon. Spike fell into the hug aswell, showing a complete display in front of rarity. She had her hooves cover her mouth, in complete awe of their interaction. "Hey, it's fine, you know explosions would never kill me" spike said while letting go of her for a second. This made her chuckle and when she let go, she finally noticed rarity in the room. "Rarity….. Hi" fluttershy said dismissively, spike noticed the tone in her answer and was slightly confused. "Fluttershy!, it's been too long!" rarity exclaimed, making her way towards her. This same dismissiveness was apparent in the hug they shared as well. Spike had a feeling what was going on but that'll be for when she leaves. "Anyway, i should be going, i'll be here for a couple days at an inn, that should give us time to get together" rarity said, spike and fluttershy nodded in reply. Rarity chuckled and got up from her seat, making her way out the door. "You two are already in sync, so cute!" rarity exclaimed, this made both spike and her blush. As they waved her goodbye, fluttershy was looking down on the floor already. Instantly spike knew the problem "damn, i should have went to her first!" spike thought to himself. He looked at her, knowing exactly what to say "fluttershy, look….." spike was about to say but then fluttershy interacted "i know, don't worry about it" she followed that up with a smile. Spike returned her smile with his own. "Then why did you seem….how would i put it…..dismissive" spike replied. Fluttershy was silent, she needed time to really think about her answer to this question. Then she look at the dragon in front, the one she grew to care for, the memory of that day started flowing back and she had her answer "I feel…. she's tone deaf" she replied, spike was confused but then she elaborated "Why would you fresh from denying someone's affection days ago, offer them a job to be even closer to that mare and her coltfriend?" she asked, it was more of rhetorical question then anything. "Because, you' expected to….. Nevermind, that was years ago, no need to rehash that, don't let that effect….." before spike could finish his sentence, fluttershy interjected "i'm sorry but your we're really hurt that day and the entire pre celebration before that, it was abnormal for you and it hurt to see you like that!" . Her being able to openly criticize her isn't something new to hear but this felt passionate. "I…. i didn't know you felt….." spike could even finish his sentence, the shock was still on him from what she just expressed to him. "Could i be tone deaf…. Aswell?" spike thought to himself. Those day after he got rejected, he ignored everyone, the world felt like nothing to him. "Look, that was years ago, if i'm ok with her, then maybe things should change with how you think of her" spike said, fluttershy looked as if she was battling herself for an answer "ok, if that's how you feel, we were friends before" she replied, he nodded and before fluttershy went for the door she paused and looked at spike. "Hey…. we had some unfinished businesses…." before spike even had the chance to say anything in response to that, she pecked him on the cheek. Spike looked away, trying to hide his embarrassment from the sudden show of affection. "Well… uh…" words were not something currently mastered in his head at the moment. Fluttershy chuckled and replied "i'll see you tomorrow spike, if that's ok?". Spike turned to her and replied "uh yeah, of course". She waved him goodbye and the second guest that came to the house, left. Spike was about to close the door but he saw something moving around in a bush next to the treehouse. He had an idea who it was but before he approached the bush, he made sure fluttershy and rarity we're far enough away. "Was she in there the entire time?" he thought to himself before the creature in the bush revealed herself covertly.

Spike let trixie inside and she shook the little bit of dirt that she had on her mane off. "Hey!, watch where you're shaking!" spike exclaimed, while dirt was flying on him. Trixie chuckled and made her way to a seat in the living room. Spike took a seat as well and asked trixie "everything turned out alright with the store?" spike asked, trixie nodded and replied "managed to get the place clean, boss didn't even come around today". Spike shrugged, especially for the type of store he saw, a traveling store owner seems common. "What about you?' trixie asked, spike in confusion, replied with his own question "what about me?". "Homicidal rarity, keeping cooler heads between her and you marefriend" trixie said in a no duh kind of way. "Well… they'll resolve themselves, honestly i should be hands off with that one" spike replied, trixie nodded, "this dragon is crazy!" she thought to herself. Why wouldn't any colt or whoever else would be put into his kind of situation not be considering that an issue. Spike then groaned and facepalmed, remembering something important "crap!, i forgot about work tommo…" right in the middle of his sentence, a light bulb lit in his head. "Trixie!, i just thought of an idea!" spike exclaimed, trixie was confused at the drake's out of nowhere excitement but she followed along anyways. "My job is pretty simple, i get payed to move things for people, it's not official but i still get payed…" spike explained, trixie had an idea with where he was going but she still let him continue. "Work with me, you could get you name out more as a civil servant" spike proposed, this lead to trixie voicing a couple concerns. "First, i already have a job with a good friend. Second, wouldn't adding me to the team be a risk to the business?" trixie finished. The first concern was a valid one but the second one was something he wasn't really concerned about. "Ok, how about this, come with me on some of my jobs, nowhere near full time" spike replied. Trixie liked the proposal and if this was the closest she'll get to having a connection to the town."But….. what about the second concern?" trixie asked. Spike shrugged his shoulders and replied "just because people don't trust you, doesn't mean the same for me, it'll just take a recommendation from me". This was another solid point, maybe this idea could benefit her more. Before she was about to deny the drake, something stopped this from happening, this voice in her head "Take a chance!". It was almost like a call for action, this call made her smirk and reply "ok, yeah, let's do it!" she exclaimed, now it was the mare's turn for an unexpected burst in energy. Spike smiled and nodded, he looked towards the window and saw the darkened sky. "Night already?" spike thought to himself, this day really flew by with all the events that preceded it. However, the seemingly hectic nature of the day didn't discourage the drake, it fueled his fire to get up for the next one. "Alright, i'm heading to sleep" spike said to trixie, she nodded and made her way upstairs. As she was making her way upstairs, she saw spike just curling up next to the furnace. He could have told her to do that, but she has a full room with a cushion and mini closet. Then it hit her, the answer to a question that fluttershy asked her before about if he had an effect to her. "That kindness, the genuine kindness of a new friend, who asks for nothing in return. Inspires me to keep moving" she thought, finally having an answer to her question. "But is that… right, nothing in return?" she quietly asked herself, going into her room, with that thought plaguing her mind.

 **Author's note: Wew!,That was long, so i'm going to keep this note short. The next chapter is gonna take a little bit longer than a day to finish, so follow the story for when that time comes. Reviews are always appreciated, thank you once again for reading and i'll see you next time :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: ups and bass heavy downs

The sun peeked itself through every window of the treehouse, leaving a morning glow that made it's way throughout the house. Spike groggily started waking up, wanting the reality of the morning to go away for one more hour. He wanted to return to sleep but his body refuses to give him that peaceful slumber. Spike stood up and saw the orange, almost celestial glow the house took. "Hmmm, interesting" spike thought to himself, forgetting what waking up this early really looked and felt like. The first place spike made his way to was the bathroom upstairs, that's the only convenience he'll really miss when being up there. The closer and closer he was to being upstairs, he heard a noise that made him groan. "shower water" spike said to himself, letting out another audible groan. "Did i just hear a groan in my presence!" trixie yelled from the bathroom, spike rolled his eyes and made his way back downstairs. He went to kitchen to see what kind of breakfast he could make. "Eggs, milk, bread, an assortment of fruit" spike said to himself, listing off the things he had in the fridge. "I can't make the same breakfast everyday…" spike thought to himself. These were times he regretted giving up his rights to grabbing gems from the cave. "Eh, eggs should do just fine" spike said to himself, picking the eggs out from the fridge. Before he took an egg out of the carton, he thought to himself. "Remembering the last time, maybe trixie should be automatically included with anything i make". Then, his original plan of just eggs turned into sunny side eggs and toast. "Today's is gonna be a tough one" spike thought to himself, he wasn't necessarily frightened at trying to vouch for trixie but he knew the fight that was coming to him. He realized the idea of just gritting your teeth and getting done what needs to be done. However, his job was time consuming enough, "maybe this isn't such a good….." spike then had to mentally slap himself for that thought almost popping into his head. It was his suggestion and now he's starting to doubt it? He kicked the thought out of his head and proceeded to make the planned breakfast.

The table was silent, the only noises you heard was the sound of two individuals eating a good breakfast. Both spike and trixie didn't want to cross any lines, especially after the last meal conversation they had was hostile. Unlike trixie, spike really wanted to break the ice, the silence was slowly killing him. He waited till they were both done at least consuming the first part of their breakfast. He looked towards the window and that gave his first conversation starter "Looks like it's gonna be a pretty nice day" spike said. Trixie then replied "yeah, i guess so, what's your point?". Spike was in utter disbelief but was honestly trying to hold back a chuckle, he replied "well… i didn't think pointing out a nice day really needed a grand reason". Spike expected another outburst but instead he heard a small chuckle and she replied "i guess you're right, sorry about that….". She didn't emotionally kill him and she was able to take the joke in stride. "Today might be a good day" spike thought to himself, her doing that gave him reaffirmed faith in… "doesn't mean that wasn't a stupid ice breaker" trixie said. Spike sighed and replied "yeah, i know….". Trixie nodded, gaining all the satisfaction she needed. "Hey, there is one thing i never asked you" spike said. Trixie then froze, she didn't really talk that much about herself and that was for a very specific reason. "Go ahead" she reluctantly replied, spike nodded and went along with his question. "What happened to you showpony magic, do you still care about it?". The answer to this question was one that edged on too personal to share for trixie. "Uh…. i just…. Didn't want to pursue magic like that anymore" she replied. Spike nodded but that didn't mean he believed her, pressing her on something like that wasn't his intention either. "Maybe, you could have a chance to try….." before spike could finish the sentence, trixie was already vigorously shaking her head. "No, i can't, i've run out of chances…" trixie said, her voice fading while saying that. Spike had no idea what she meant by that but her changing tone told him to leave it alone. The silence returned to the table once again but the mood that silence was spreading was quite apparent. Spike tried to think about the next icebreaker that he could use to bring back some conversation. "Oh!, do you know who's place were going to today?" spike asked, trixie shook her head and this allowed spike to cut in. "vinyl's, it's the best starter place for you, she barely knows about what went down a couple years ago with you" spike said. Trixie was intrigued, she doesn't even know who this mare is and that's a good sign. "Weird that someone barely knowing you is a positive" trixie quipped, this made both of them laugh. "I'm not sure if i should have laughed at that" spike said, trixie swatted his concern away by replying "it's ok, i can poke fun of myself, you on the other hand….". This time, spike had no idea if she was joking or serious based on previous experience. Both of them finished their breakfast but none of them stood up. Spike only needed a couple extra seconds before confirming what was about to happen. Those extra seconds were over and spike stood up, answering the question in his head "guess i'm doing the dishes" spike said, trixie nodded, not even offering a hand. He didn't really mind that, it's piecemeal compared to the potential day in front of him. "We should leave early, there will be a lot of stuff to do" spike said, washing said dishes. Trixie nodded in reply, leaving her chair and coming into the kitchen to place her dishes in. "i'll do mine….." trixie said faintly, it was enough for him to hear. It intrigued spike how timid she became when it came to doing something generous. "Ok, when you're done, we'll head out" spike said to her, finishing the last dish of his. Trixie nodded and started doing her dishes, not saying a word to him. Spike took a seat in the living room, waiting for trixie to finish and the unpredictable day to begin.

Heat, it's either two things to the light blue mare, humid or burning. Today, sadly, the weather was humid and this was her least favorite kind of heat. Why is heat the thing she's thinking about?, she's stuck outside waiting for spike to convince the gray mare to let her in. "you know i wouldn't bring her if i didn't…." spike was about to say but then the gray mare interjected "i know, i know but you're…..". She stopped herself from saying something a little less flattering about the drake. "I'm what, go on tell me!" spike exclaimed, his emotion changing into anger with a hair trigger. "Naive, very open…. But naive" she said sternly, not even fearing the angry dragon. Spike calmed himself down and took a deep breath. "If you don't trust her that much, keep a close eye on her while we're doing the job" spike proposed. Octavia looked at him and then glanced at the mare sitting outside in the heat. She then groaned and replied to spike "if she is any threat to…." spike already knew what she was going to say and interjected "she won't lay a finger on your vinyl" he said mockingly, as predicted by him, this made her blush furiously. "Ju...just go inside, she's in the back!" she exclaimed, spike chuckled and he went outside to tell trixie the good news. "We're clear, behave yourself" spike said to her, trixie gave him a look of ill intent and that wasn't unnoticed by the gray mare. "Just introduce yourself, she's very kind" spike said to her, trixie nodded and went towards the grey mare. "Uhhh, thank you for…. Giving me a chance, you…. Probably know my name, what's yours?" trixie stumbled through that entire sentence. The grey mare wasn't really comfortable with her just yet but being uncourteous was just not her style. "Of course, a helping hand is always wonderful to have, octavia is my name!" she replied, really pushing enthusiasm. Trixie wasn't fooled by her false enthusiasm but she kept her head up and focused on the job ahead. "Vinyl's in the backroom, she'll give you instructions on what to do" octavia said to her with brevity. Trixie took the signal and made her way to the backroom with spike. Spike turned to her and whispered "see, told you she was nice". She nodded in reply and didn't even mention the feeling she got from her. They walked in the backroom and they we're greeted by a very excited mare. "Glad to see ya here spike…." she looked and saw the mare standing next to him. She took off her literal rose colored goggles to get a clearer look at the mare. Trixie was 1 step closer to looking at the ground, not even wanting any kind of eye contact from her. In an unexpected reaction from her, she smiled and then said "cool, you brought extra hooves!". Trixie was surprised at the mare's excitement with her being here, this made her crack a small smile. "Name's vinyl, nice to meet you" vinyl said, putting her hoof out for a shake. Trixie put her hoof out and shook hers, she then replied "trixie is mine, glad to be working with you". Spike started smiling as well, hoping that this tone and demeanor sticks. "Ok, let's go over everything that needs doing today…." vinyl said, spike and trixie nodded as they started going over their tasks for the day.

The task they were given was simple by design but tedious in nature. "I have a totally amazing party to d.j tonight and i need my tables and gear to be moved to the location" vinyl explained. Trixie and spike nodded, thinking that this would be a simple job. "I mean this concert is tonight, she wouldn't have too many things to carry…." spike thought to himself. Vinyl then started walking towards the front door and looked at the two helpers. "Follow me, the stuff we need to carry is outside of the house" vinyl said, trixie and spike nodded and followed her outside. "Odd, i didn't see anything outside of the house" trixie said to spike, he only shrugged in response. You see, funny thing about perspective, if both of them were really paying attention, they would have saw the massive heap of different things behind the house. "Do we have some kind of….." spike was about to ask but vinyl was already aware of his question. "Sadly no, no kind of wheelbarrow or anything to carry all this with but the place isn't that far….." vinyl said uncertainly. Spike took a look at trixie and automatically her bloody nose came to memory. "I… i'll try and find some kind of wheelbarrow" spike said. "It's not like you can't carry this stuff a couple houses down dude" vinyl replied, spike turned to her and asked "how many houses down?" spike asked. Trixie was just silent, having an idea about what he was worried about. "Spike….." the first time she called out, it was more like a silent whisper. "It's about five houses down, pretty decent distance but with two hand….." before vinyl even finished her answer, spike interjected "not two, just one…." . why was this something that trixie could easily predict the drake to do? "Spike….." this time it was a little bit louder, not enough to gain attention. "Why did you bring her if she's not even going to help?" vinyl asked, genuinely confused. "It's….. Something came up, her carrying some of this stuff five houses down is concerning to me" spike replied. Trixie finally became irritated with him deeply underestimating her. "DRAGON, ENOUGH" she yelled, everybody around her turned dead silent. Spike was the most shocked by her outburst, he wasn't even sure what he even did this time. "We were on such a good streak….." this was the only thought that passed through the drake's mind. "Trixie… what's wrong?" spike asked, he completed ignored her calling him dragon once again. Spike calmer tone made her regret the more aggressive tone she took but at the same time, it's the only way that she could be heard. "It's just…. I'll be fine, don't worry about it, the bloody nose was only one occasion" trixie replied, returning to a more grounded tone. Spike was still uncomfortable with it but he knows to back off at this point "it's ok, i got it, if you can do it, do it" spike replied, trixie nodded in reply. Vinyl was just confused by where any of these kind of things were coming from "well… could of solved that with a little less yelling" vinyl said, making all them give a small chuckle. "Yeah….. Things like these happen from time to time….." spike said, completely embarrassed by their display. Trixie couldn't get over one particular thing about what just happened but right now she needed her mind clear. Spike kept his uncertainty with him as he saw the pile of electronics that need to be moved. "Ok partner, where do we start?" spike asked trixie. Trixie looked at all the things in the pile and pointed out the heaviest thing in the pile. "The turntable, looks hefty" she said with a knowing grin, this being some kind of small punishment for the drake. Spike knew that she was doing this on purpose but he took it in stride and replied "fine with me, just don't ask me for any assistance" spike replied, throwing her punishment attempt right back into her face. Trixie huffed and summoned her magic around the item, vinyl then said "wow, she's sure showed you dude, let's get going!". "She hasn't even walked a step yet?" spike thought but she let vinyl's encouragement swell her head a bit, maybe it would help her through this job. He took a speaker from the pile and started following in pursuit of the two mares.

Dirty was the only description that this small inn could muster out of the 4 customers that come to the place. 3 of those 4 people only come around to laugh at the miserable excuse of an inn. The paint on the walls was now chipping, the flooring was cracked and the molding between these floorings were quite apparent. The doors to each room had a significant dent in each of them, the origin of these dents remain to be unknown. The only actually decent part about this inn was the actual rooms you stay in. that's only because unlike the rest of this place, the rooms didn't look like a deadly fire occurred in them. These details were important for a very special reason. The mare who had residence in this inn was a mare that you wouldn't think had no business at all here. One of the room doors busted open, a dazed mare who's purple mane was frizzled and messy walked through that opened door. She walked with a slow, trance like pace to the front desk. She finally found the mare that actually ran the place. She was a young mare and very reserved as well. She was a fellow unicorn like rarity but her color was of a dark blue, as well as her mane. Her most defining feature are the smaller pair of librarians glasses that she wore. She wore her mane completely down, covering her right eye, making the glasses obsolete. "The water….. It's not working" the mare said, sounding exhausted. The clerk looked at her straight in the eyes and replied "well, sorry, if it ain't working, not my problem….." the mare was completely dismissive of her, this peeved her to no end. "Mam, you could atleast give me some respect" she said, trying to keep some kind of nice exterior. "You payed 1 bit, you get 1 bit service" the service mare didn't even care about her ailments. She was ready to flip on the service lady but she did have some kind of point. She gave off a large huff and started walking back to her room. The service lady squinted and she gasped, the mare continued to walk off, hoping she wasn't connecting any dots. "Oh my god, rarity is that you?" the service mare asked. She stopped in her tracks, rarity did not want to be found here. She thought about her next set of words very carefully, she didn't want to take advantage of her… "looking at the genuine article darling!" she exclaimed, throwing caution to the wind. The service mare was in complete shock, a famous celebrity has come to her dump of an inn. "I'm such a fan of your work!, i'm so sorry for being rude!" she exclaimed, sounding like young foal. Rarity cocked a slight grin, not only soaking up the attention but having a plan backed up with that grin. "About the water….." before she even finished, the service mare interjected "of course!, you don't even need to ask!". "Ok, let's see what i can do with this…." rarity thought. "I just need one thing from you….., what's your name mam?" rarity asked, playing up her courteous charm. "Tracy!" she replied, one of her favorite designers asking for her name was mind blowing enough for her. "Ok… tracy darling, i can't have other ponies know that i stay here, no pony, do you understand?" rarity asked, the giddy mare in front of her nodded rapidly. Rarity smiled and made her way back to the room she was staying, expecting the water that she asked for in the beginning. "That was a close one, i just need more time here, i don't want to go back" rarity thought, shuddering at the idea of returning to her dreaded manehatten.

"Really, you're serious now, fluttershy?" vinyl asked spike, he was still wondering why ponies would be so shocked by the development. "For the fifth and final time, yes, happily together" spike replied, annoyed by her line of questioning about it. The group of hearty workers decided to take a small break after an hour of grunt work. "That's great dude!, honestly, i thought the mare you brought was your plus one" vinyl replied, trixie double taked and was ready to correct that stance. Octavia was watching her obvious shock and discomfort but kept those details all to herself. "It's really a long story with her and me, almost like an epic saga" spike replied, trixie swatted her hoof in dismissal and replied "saved me from diamond dogs, needed a place to stay, end of story". Spike looked at her and chuckled, not even minding it and then asked octavia "hey, is there anything to drink in this place?". Octavia shrugged her shoulders and replied "the bar isn't stocked here but… have you actually drank something alcoholic before?" octavia asked. This is when spike became a little shy and uncomfortable, the last party he remembered having was when everybody was going their separate ways. Most of the mane six besides pinkie had a strict no beer, wine, or anything alcoholic rule. "No, not really actually….." spike replied, vinyl started laughing at the poor, shy drake. "That's gonna change tonight, this party is gonna be killer!" vinyl exclaimed while still laughing. Spike put his head down on the bar counter, thinking that maybe lying could have saved his skin. "Hey….. i've never had a drink in my life and i'm a technical drifter!" trixie exclaimed valiantly and full of pride. This made vinyl and octavia laugh out loud but not for the reasons you would think. "Are you trying to stick up for spike?" vinyl asked, holding another chuckle in with her hooves. Spike lifted his head and looked at her, trixie couldn't even return a glance to him. She was completely silent and didn't understand the number one rule about truth. Silence can speak volumes and this ideal applied exactly for this moment. "Awe….. you becoming good friends already" vinyl said, taking this moment completely different then octavia took it. "What do you mean drifter?" octavia asked, suspicious of the mare once again. This is was truly broke her silence and filled that silence with misplaced frustration. "Well, when your outcasted by the entire town, your outcasted by the entire town" trixie replied, forcing a chuckle out. Octavia nodded and dropped the subject, then the room became dead silent. This gave spike a moment to realize exactly what she felt for trixie. "I'm so…." before spike could say another thing, vinyl cut in "don't you love this place, i mean it's small but really charming". Spike almost immediately forgot what he was about to say and started looking around the room.

It was a small and simple place designwise, a small bar in the very back of the club and a dance floor that dominates most of the space. A stage was placed at the very back of the venue to keep the amount of dancefloor space high. Instead of having regular light bulbs, the light bulbs were colored and made the place pop at night. "I mean yeah, it's a nice place, not my concern since i'm not going" spike replied, vinyl groaned in frustration and replied "come on spike!, why not make it a date with your new mare?". Spike thought this through slightly, any kind of date with fluttershy was a positive for him but he remembered something important "i don't think a party like this would be something she'd enjoy" spike replied, vinyl sighed, seeming defeated by his answer. It was an answer that came with a large amount of logic but there was still a small bit of regret with his answer. It's been a long time since he has done something strictly for fun, he's kinda just been living his life day by day. "Nobody asked me if i wanted to go, jeez, inconsiderate" trixie said jokingly. Vinyl turned towards her quickly, taking her joke as a confirmation of appearance. "If you wanna come, i'll make sure to add you on the list!" vinyl exclaimed, sounding like an excited foal. "Really?" trixie asked to confirm but oddly turned to spike, seemingly asking for a reaction. "Well, of course, you've proven trustworthy and you seem cool to party with!" vinyl replied, this made trixie crack a small grin but once again looking back at spike. This time he noticed and was unsure with what exactly she was looking for. Did she want him to come with her?, was this some kind of ask for permission?, is he supposed to stop her? These were all questions that he had stirring in his mind, he decided to take one of these questions to heart. Spike huffed, praying to celestia for the 50th time, asking forgiveness for weakness. "Fine, i'll come along" spike said dismissively, this answer got small claps from everyone there. "Awesome!, i promise you won't regret it!" vinyl exclaimed happily, her excitement got the regretful drake to at least crack a grin. Trixie nodded, seemingly answering one of the questions he had in his mind. Octavia smiled as well, knowing spike longer, it's been awhile since any of them has really hung out for leisure. "Alright then, party folk, let's get this moving done!" vinyl said, everyone in the room caught her fever and stood up, ready to end the job. Spike even started ebbing away his regret, "it's been awhile since i've hung out with friends, might be fun" spike thought to himself. As spike put up a small smile walking out of the door, trixie saw this and grinned herself, seemingly finding success in something.

Work ethic was on turbo this time around, breaks were non-existent for this trio. Moving item after item in a rapid rhythm. Spike went from starting to warm towards the idea of going to being excited. A party is just what he needs, maybe he'll be able convince fluttershy of the same idea. Trixie was really feeling the vibe that young drake was spreading, she was honestly glad for it. Her emotions weren't covered by some impenetrable veil this time, her happiness was quite apparent. But she wasn't feeling that happiness for herself, taking it like a thief in the night. "It's at least one thing i could do, in the end it was his choice to go anyway, but why was my nudge even effective?" trixie thought, octavia finally finished her data gathering on the interaction between the two. "This could crash and burn" octavia thought to herself, reminded of her own non active attempts. She was sitting in the bar for this last haul, feeling she'd let the helpers they're paying for finish the job. She then returned her gaze to lifelong friend vinyl. "Even working gives her the joyful energy" octavia thought to herself. Even when she was in magical strain with some items she carried, she still had a stupid grin on her face. This is what octavia admired….. No, loved about her. She's been silent about it for years, the only one that has really known about this secret is spike. "Maybe this party could be a chance to…." she started think, she then dismissed her childish thinking, remembering her older status. "I can't have such thoughts like a child" she said to herself, that didn't mean she wouldn't take the chance. "Last box, bring it in and were done!" the volume of vinyl's voice brought octavia out of thought. Octavia looked towards the group and saw vinyl leading spike carrying the last box of various wires. Spike placed the box down and let out an exhausted breath. "Finally!" spike exclaimed, trixie just plopped down right on the floor. Spike chuckled and started talking to vinyl "ok, so when is this party you we're so hyped for me to be at?" spike asked, vinyl was glad to give the details for this. "In about… 5 or 6 hours" vinyl said nonchalantly. Then after a couple seconds she realized that there is only 5 or 6 hours to set up equipment and other things. "Ok, i would love to stay and chat but me and octi got some equipment to set up!" she exclaimed, once she heard her name, octavia's attention was fully on the group. "Late once again vinyl" octavia chimed in, vinyl gave her a look of annoyance and quickly started sorting through boxes. "Alright, we'll see you tonight" spike replied, making his way out door as trixie followed suit.

"So, where to next?" trixie asked, then a large grumble was heard. "Maybe, lunch could be a start" spike replied, organically revealing being the source of that noise. This made her chuckle as they started looking around for an diner. As they were looking, questions were popping up in both of their minds. "You know…." she started saying, spike swung his attention back onto her. "I'm fine on my own, right?" trixie asked, spike sighed and nodded. "Yeah. it's just, i don't know, sometimes i get a little overprotective sometimes, especially for friends…" he responded, this made trixie freeze in place. She turned to him and asked in disbelief "you consider us friends?". Spike was puzzled by this confusion but still replied "of course, i mean your obnoxious from time to time, but you're nice enough" he added a shrug, assuming this wasn't really new news. It really wasn't, trixie even admitted this to herself. Hearing someone else confirm that fact besides having to ask for that truth is refreshing for her. "One more thing, what convinced you to come?" trixie asked, spike once again did and shrug and replied "honestly, maybe cause you wanted me to come or something in that nature…". She had a feeling this was the case but she wanted to hear these things herself, gives her a good feeling. Then that bitterness, the quick thought of their new friendship being more take then give on her part started bothering her once more. "Hey, it's fine, really, if i didn't wanna do something, i wouldn't" he said to her with a smile. It's almost like he caught her thought and answered it, for that, she became embarrassed. "Well…. Obviously i knew that!, dense drake!" she replied, spike laughed at her simple defense. "You know, maybe if you were a little more open….." he was about to say but that was cancelled with a loud…. "Shut up already!". "Yep, maybe i should bump the obnoxious percentage up to 60 instead of 50" spike thought as they finally found an adequate diner.

"Oh i don't know…. You know how i am with parties…." fluttershy stumbled along, hearing spike's request for invitation. "I'm only going because of this thing we call peer pressure, if you go, it'll be at least a solid 30% less worse" spike said, contradicting the statement he gave to trixie. "You'd only give me 30% percent….." fluttershy said, honestly disappointed with his percent. Spike wanted to facepalm but he wasn't sure how great of an idea that was to do in front of her timid marefriend. "If i give you 50%, will you come my dear?" spike replied, really trying to tug on the cheeseball. Fluttershy was thinking for a split second but then she came to her decision "i'll go, can't leave you alone down there" fluttershy said with another one of her beaming smiles. "Alright, i'll come back around in like….. 4 hours or so" spike said, giving her a quick hug before making his way out. Trixie was hidden behind some random tree reasonably close to her house. "Her house looks nice, for living in the middle of the forest…" trixie thought, spike found the place that she was hiding and signaled her to come along. As they were both walking, trixie had a pretty obvious question "of everyone you openly told, why hide it from her?" trixie asked. Spike sighed and replied "i don't know, i really don't wanna risk losing her". "I mean vinyl was ok, rarity was ok, i've even had multiple conversations with her, she at least assumes we're friends" trixie replied. Spike's ground was getting shakier and shakier, she was right but it was still a fear of his. "Look, a misunderstanding could happen if you don't tell her" trixie said, this finally broke him out of his ideal and he made a decision. "Ok, when i pick her up, i'll tell her, since you're coming along" spike replied, trixie nodded in agreement. Spike actually appreciated the little bit of advice that she gave him. Honestly, he probably would have stuck in his ways if it weren't for her input. "And i'm the only crazy one" trixie said, making spike laugh. He's aware of his own indecision and insanity from time to time. If they were blood related, he probably caught some of twilight's insanity. "Hey, are you gonna be ok with this party, you know, with all the…." spike was about to ask but then trixie interjected "spike, i'm not a foal, i'll be fine". He nodded and they continued on their way, getting ready for an impending party.

Rarity's star power is something that she wanted to drop and abandon in manehatten, along with other things. For once in years it's become a useful tool for her. She's been having a fantastic experience at her inn now. it doesn't mean that the inn isn't a garbage heap anymore, that's just denying reality. "So, that's where you got that idea from….." tracy was just an ordinary super fan of the mare. She's been engaging in what basically adds up to interviewer talk. Rarity didn't mind this at all, it's attention but not too much of it. "Inspiration isn't just one source darling, it can come from almost anything, you just have to have the eye to see it" rarity replied, getting to talk about her passion with someone in a more intimate level was a complete joy for her. "So…. do you think i can….." before the words could even slip out of tracy's mouth, rarity was already nodding. "Of course, all things take time, but your interest is already a good starting place" rarity replied, her reply was returned with a beaming smile from tracy. "Thank you, really means alot to me" tracy said, rarity nodded in reply. "You seem like you still really like fashion, why did you come back here?" tracy asked. Rarity had to think about how she answered this question. "I needed a break, from a couple things, big businesses can drag you down" rarity replied, tracy nodded in understanding. "Rooting yourself, i got it, that's why you picked my inn!" tracy exclaimed but rarity was quick to shut that down "sorry but no, complete coincidence" rarity replied, tracy took that in good humor and laughed. "Hey, i was invited to a party, would you like to come along?" tracy asked, rarity already knew her answer to this question. "I really can't, i can't be seen by anyone darling…" she replied, actually sounding disappointed by this fact. Tracey was not giving up on her proposal, she had an idea. "If you're that serious, i have some clothes you could try on, would make a fine disguise" tracy said, secretly hoping her idol would actually take a look at her clothes. Rarity's face was one of pure thought, she really didn't want to get pointed out by even one pony. But at the same time, it's been awhile since she's had a good amount of fun at a party. Her final decision was one motivated out of cold logic and….. "You know what, might as well go, might be fun" rarity replied, wanting to let herself go for one night. "This is amazing, i'm going to a party with rarity!" the giddy tracy thought, she was somehow able to keep a somewhat cool head. "First thing we need to do, is cut down some of that hair, ponies need to see more of those eyes" rarity said to her, "now i getting a free makeover, what a day!" tracy thought, this became too overwhelming for her. "Tracy, tracy!" rarity exclaimed, trying to wake up the passed out mare.

 **Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took so long, i was kinda blocked on the direction i wanted to go with this story. the slower pace of this story dosen't help either with how long it took me to bust this chapter out. i will try to get these out a little faster then i did this time, now i have the direction of the story i mind. thanks for reading, reviews are always appereciated :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: the breakdown

3 hours later, library treehouse

It was dreadfully quiet, it matched the moods of the two that were in this house. Their heads were cool and quiet for the first time in their lives. This was Spike's first party in years and if it wasn't for pinkie's upcoming party, this would be the only one he's attending. Spike was waiting for Trixie in the bathroom. Then, like most minds without rest, his started kicking into action again. The restlessness started with expectations of the party. "Usually when vinyl hypes something up, it's not that bad…" spike thought, referencing the multiple events she's been involved with in this town. These events had equally negative consequences and positive benefits, spike isn't feeling cynical today, so positive is what he's betting on. The second thing casually passing through is Trixie being ok with going to a party. Now he isn't gonna say that he knows her completely or any lie like that. The one thing he did know is most of the town's disdain for the mare, based on reports from her. Maybe this won't be a factor with anything that happens in this party but it's still a concern in his mind. He can't really be there for her if things went sour based on her request. "Who knows, this might be the turning point of the town…" spike thought to himself, making him feel slightly less worried about the whole affair. There is also the fact that this party is gonna be filled with friends, ones he hasn't hung out with for at least a couple months. "Maybe….. Just for this once….. I'll think about myself today" spike said to himself, just saying that lifted a weight off his back. Finally, Trixie left the bathroom, leaving it open for the drake to use. Spike looked up at the mare, looking completely unchanged based on all her time in there. "Wait, what were you even…" spike was about to ask but was quickly interrupted by her "just needed a bit of time, that's it". Spike sighed, not really finding that reasonable, especially since she had a room for that. "Alright, at least we won't be late, right?" Trixie asked, all spike had to do was look outside. "Maybe a little, looking pretty dark outside" he replied. Trixie huffed, regretting the extra time she spent in the bathroom. "But not too late! if I just slip in the bathroom really quickly, it'll be fine!" spike said to quickly reassure her. She nodded and made her way downstairs. As she passed by him, he smelled a strong but sweet scent "jasmine….." spike recalled the smell of the elegant flower. Spike was wondering whether to even ask about that. "She might get the wrong idea…." spike thought to himself as he put that in the back of his head. They both walked out the door, awaiting the fun this party might bring.

Tracy had excitement for a party, a rare excitement that came from moving beyond her post. "I have to be the best possible Tracy" she thought to herself in the third person. She going to a party with a celebrity that she adored. She was surprised that death by excitement wasn't going to be her fate. "Oh, this looks nice" Rarity said, looking through her closet of clothes. Tracy and rarity had to make one more stop before heading to the party. Tracy's own little cottage a couple places near the inn. It's a one-floor cottage, a small living area with a closet and bed. Her kitchen is quite basic and small but it served whatever needs she had. Rarity found a low profile red tracksuit with a white stripe in the middle. Tracy double taked at her choice of clothing, she knew rarity's idea was to blend in but with something that subpar. "Are you sure, I mean, it's the only thing in there I never wore?" Tracy said, Rarity thought for a second while looking at the tracksuit. It felt like a different mare was about to make a fashion decision but she realized how little control she has with this decision. "Yes, I'm sure, I really wish I wasn't but I am" Rarity said with a sigh. This made Tracy chuckle but at the same time intrigued. A famous fashion designer stooping to wearing a tracksuit to hide herself. She disregarded that for now to keep in mind what is making out to be the best time in her life. "Ok, I'll put this on and we'll be on our way darling!" she exclaimed while having a pure and genuine smile. "For someone hiding out, she still seems joyful for the simplest things" Tracy thought to herself, not really having that same excitement herself. "Ok, I'll wait in the kitchen…." she didn't even get to finish her sentence before rarity interjected "No need for that, shouldn't take the long to put on a tracksuit". This was a good point in Tracy's eyes, though she wasn't so privy on watching her change. "I'll wait outside, I don't mind it" Tracy said. Rarity nodded in agreement and Tracy walked towards her door and headed outside. As Tracy was waiting outside, she realized how different her situation is becoming in just a day. "But what if this is all some kind of complex dream, I walk alongside her at the party and then everything disappears" Tracy thought to herself. But she pushed those doubts aside that was preventing her from fully enjoying the time she was about to have. "Wait a minute, did I just leave a complete stranger in my home….?" Tracy asked herself but immediately after that thought popped up in her head, rarity emerged from her house. Rarity sighed, embarrassed about wearing the tracksuit in the first place. This lets out a laugh that Tracy could barely even contain. Rarity then looked straight at her with her eyes resembling daggers, Tracy was not really sure what it meant. She stopped laughing, let her smile down and the area was dead quiet. Then Tracy heard a small snicker from the white mare and finally, they both started laughing. "Let's go, we mustn't be late" Rarity said in her light accent, leading the way with Tracy in tow.

Spike and Trixie were speeding along on to their next destination, Fluttershy's house to go pick her up. Spike was and wasn't an optimist, his optimism really changed based on the situations he was put in. like for example, admitting to someone you're in a relationship with that you've had another mare living with you for at least two weeks. "We're almost there, you gotta hurry with this, we don't got much time" Trixie said to him, jolting him out of quiet thought. Spike nodded but he noticed something about Trixie's demeanor. "Are you expecting someone?" spike asked, Trixie became dead silent. She looked away from the drake, this showed him he was spot on. This made spike smirk and say "if you have some kind of da….." before spike could finish the sentence, Trixie levitated a small twig and hit him across the head with it. "Owwwww, that actually kind of hurt" spike said while rubbing his head, Trixie chuckled and replied "aren't you supposed to be a dragon, come on now". Spike sighed, knowing when to admit being defeated. They finally reached Fluttershy's house, spike didn't even have time to think before Trixie used her magic to push him towards the door. "When did her magic become so powerful?" spike asked in his head before knocking on the door. he heard her hoofsteps fastly approaching the door and in the one second he had to prepare, he came up with a cheat. Fluttershy opened the door and gave off her signature smile but then she finally noticed Trixie next to him. As soon as she noticed her, spike didn't get the reaction from Fluttershy that he was prepared for. "Trixie, I didn't know you were coming, good to see you" Fluttershy said cheerfully, allowing spike to give a secret sigh of relief. "Well you know, spike and I have been working a job with vinyl, she's really generous" Trixie replied, this didn't even put Fluttershy off at all. If it weren't them knowing each other friendlier after the rarity incident then this would have been… "also spike has been kind enough to let me stay with him in the treehouse" Trixie said to Fluttershy. "what happened to me being the one to do this?!" spike frustratingly thought. Fluttershy still kept her smile in tow but she walked towards spike looked him straight in the eyes. "Aren't we supposed to be…" Fluttershy didn't even finish before spike started waving his hands in front of him in denial. "Definitely not, I wouldn't do that to you, we're friends, it's just me being me, I promise!" spike frantically said. Fluttershy took a deep look into the drake's emerald eyes to find the truth. She came up with her conclusion and nodded. Spike smiled, really liking this big success streak that he's recently been on. "Shall we be going my lady?" spike asked, Trixie gagged at the sentimentality. Fluttershy chuckled and nodded, walking right next to spike as Trixie lead the way. "Next time, be honest with me, you have nothing to fear" Fluttershy said while they were walking. Spike nodded and took a sigh of relief, giving him a much more positive mentality on the oncoming night.

"Woah…." that was the only thing spike could say when seeing the extremely bright neon colored lights protruding from the outside of the building. It's was a jarring sight to see a once calm and quiet building turn into something this energized and loud. Spike took a deep breath but he also heard someone in their group do the same. He looked and surprisingly enough it was Trixie. This didn't concern the drake but more intrigued him, she seemed like the most fearless one of them all. Once again, Spike decided to leave that alone, making sure that his fun would take center preference tonight. "Everyone ready?" spike asked, using this as a quick way to check the state of mind of mares. Fluttershy nodded immediately and moved closer to spike but Trixie had a different reaction. "Huh? oh yeah, definitely!" Trixie said, her head obviously somewhere else when spike asked the question. "Don't do it, worry about yourself for now, she'll figure it out" spike thought to himself, hanging his usual nature out the door for now. Spike was the one who decided to open the door and that made the color that was once slightly contained, burst from the door. The room was lively and filled with dozens and dozens of ponies, it dwarfed any other party he's been at. "Well, vinyl doesn't disappoint" spike thought to himself as he leads the way inside the building.

Spike's first goal was looking for a place where everyone can sit. He wasn't really someone who danced at these kinds of parties. He then recalled the bar that he and Trixie sat at during the work they did with vinyl and Octavia. However, the place was so crowded, he lost the original location of the bar. "This…. May have been a mistake" spike thought to himself, looking around trying to find someone else familiar. "Spike?" he heard Fluttershy ask, he then turned to address her and realized something. "Where did Trixie go?" spike asked looking around, swearing she was right next to them a second ago. "We can find her later, I'm sure she's fine" Fluttershy replied, Spike nodded in agreement. After that, there was an awkward silence between the two. So far, their dates have been in the most secluded parts of nature. This is the complete opposite, if they even wanted to talk, they would probably have to be constantly yelling at each other. This put the pieces together for the one statement they were both about to make."This isn't our scene, is it?" they both asked at the same time, sharing their mental state with each other. "I mean, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for a friend, a much louder mare then you" spike said, making Fluttershy chuckle in response. This was something that the drake could barely hear but the smile that he saw gave him all the response he needed. "How about this, first thing we do, find the bar?" spike asked her, Fluttershy gave him an odd look before saying "I don't drink, I didn't think you did either". Spike shook his head before replying "oh no, nothing like that!, there are a bunch of places to sit near the bar" spike replied, correcting Fluttershy assumption. Fluttershy nodded in reply, looking around her to see if she saw any signs of a bar. Spike just stole a quick glance at her, not even believing this was his reality. "You ready to go?" Fluttershy asked, Spike turned to her and nodded. "Good, cause I think I found it" Fluttershy followed up with, marking off one win for the both of them. Just looking at her, gave him this kind of sentimentality, it hasn't even been that long since they started seeing each other either. Maybe it seemed like that much of an impossibility of him ever finding someone again after rarity's rejection. "Hey, Fluttershy" Spike called out to her, Fluttershy turned to him. "Thanks for….. You know…." spike was already flushed with just trying to get the words out. "It wasn't just a courtesy, I felt the same way" Fluttershy interjected with. Spike was contempt, happy even, "I'm glad… really, so let's get a move on then, huh?" spike said, accompanying it with a nervous fake laugh. Fluttershy nodded, leading both of them through the large crowd of dancing ponies.

Trixie had a mission statement when attending this party and it was to try and mingle. In her eyes, sticking around spike was gonna limit her ability to do so. She didn't even have the answer as to why spike would impede her progress but she had enough to know this was the case. She was able to lose them so easily because of the massive swarm that was this party. It wasn't the biggest party she's ever been too but it was massive enough to get lost in. "ok party ponies! you enjoying your time here!" Trixie heard a voice through the speakers of the place. She looked up and she saw a face that put a smile on her's. She saw the giant turntables and colored spotlights surrounding the general area of this familiar mare. She was having the time of her life, it was almost like the music itself was giving her the energy. This familiar mare was vinyl, making a job look like a passion project. Vinyl was continuing to mix around with the music when she looked down at the audience and saw Trixie. Trixie saw that she was looking right at her and waved. Vinyl smiled and waved in return, she then pointed towards the back of the club and quickly mouthed something. This was obviously a way of telling her to meet her in the back. She then found her next objective, find her way to the back of this pretty crowded party. She looked around and found a semi-empty spot to walk through, so she started treading along. As she was walking and looking around, her mind recalled back to vinyl and how that reminded her of days on stage. "It wasn't that real but it was fun…." she wistfully thought. In her mind she abandoned that part of her life, it was weighing down her growth. Or at least that's what she wants to think, keeping one personal mystery at bay. Before she came back here, her head was filled with such torturous bile. If she didn't at least leave one or two of those thoughts at bay, she would go insane. As she was walking, traveling with her thoughts to keep her company, she accidentally bumped into another pony. This brought her out of thought, ready to chew out the pony that bumped into her. However, as soon as this pony turned to look at her, she completely ignored those ideas. "Rarity…." Trixie said passively aggressively. Rarity was staring right at her with Tracy standing right next to her. She didn't hold the same anger that she used to but the mistrust was still there. "Oh, Trixie, hi…." Rarity said with more of a passive tone then aggressive one. Trixie was ready to just thrash her all across the club but instead, she showed some amount of restraint and decided to leave the conversation at that by walking away. Tracy, who was just coming back around from looking for the bar, addressed her. "Great news! they do have….. What happened?" Tracy asked, seeing the amount of discomfort in her demeanor. "Oh, um, nothing, meeting with an old friend, do they have strawberry wine?" Rarity asked, skipping quickly through everything she didn't wanna talk about. Tracy nodded and this improved rarity's mood. "Let's go then darling, I'd never had this much fun in ages!" Rarity exclaimed, returning to her more cheerful demeanor.

"That… I can't believe her!" Trixie thought to herself. The first time they've met since rarity almost killed her and she didn't even utter any words of remorse. "Let's hope she doesn't become a problem for another day" Trixie thought to herself. The power of evasive frustration allowed her speed to double throughout walking in the club. She was only a couple steps away and was gladly greeted by a smiling vinyl and Octavia. "The gray one is smiling at me, that's… odd" Trixie thought to herself. Trixie didn't really think she hit it off with her when they were working. Matter of fact, there was an obvious lack of trust from her. Trixie took a deep breath, slightly nervous about meeting a group of new mares and greeted them. "How's it going?" Trixie asked the both of them. "Great!, this is way better then I imagined!" vinyl exclaimed, Octavia gave the equivalent of a shrug with her response. "It's been fine" Octavia said, vinyl chuckling at her lower-key response. "Come on, I got a great place for us to talk" vinyl said, leading the way towards the backstage of this club. During their walk, there was absolutely no talking from any of them unless you count vinyl humming a tune. It was almost like they all agreed that talking would be a waste of breath until they got to this specific place. That was until…..."So, what happened to you, really?" Trixie heard Octavia ask while they were walking. Trixie was shocked by the to the point manner she asked this question but at the same time respected it. "Fine, but it's actually a pretty complicated story, so I'll save it for when we get to wherever vinyl is leading us, ok?" Trixie replied, Octavia nodded in reply. "Awesome, we get to hear a backstory, today is just a treat!" vinyl exclaimed, this made Trixie chuckle and although every part of Octavia was fighting against it. She let out a small smirk at the sentiment, making Trixie feel a small sense of comradery with her.

"You ran out of strawberry wine, really?!" Tracy was dumbfounded for rarity. They both returned to this bartender hoping for the drink Tracy confirmed the existence of minutes ago. "I swear, it's just a surprisingly popular drink tonight!" the bartender exclaimed, nervous and trying to work his way out of this blunder. "How do you run out of a drink like that, in a party like this!?" Tracy was frustrated. The first time she gets to hang out with one of her idols and the world decides to make a blunder like this happen. "It's not uncommon for something like this to happen, really it isn't" the bartender replied. Tracy was about to throw out another lashing when she heard a whisper from rarity. "It's fine, really, there are other drinks". This got her to slightly calm down but the failure still peeved her. "Any other flavors then?" Tracy asked, with clear frustration in her voice. "Almost everything other flavor besides strawberry, so what would you gals like?" the bartender asked. "Grape's fine for me" Tracy replied, winding down slightly. "Is cherry available?" Rarity asked, the bartender nodded and started making the drinks. Tracy found an empty barstool to sit on and rarity found a seat next to her. "So… how long have you been living here?" Rarity asked. The drinks came to their tables and Tracy began to tell her tale. "Well, jeez, I really don't remember, I know my parents traveled a lot" Tracy replied, Rarity nodded in response. "Only reason I'm still here is that of the inn, mother wanted me to take care of it, so I did" Tracy finished. Rarity nodded in response, thinking about her own upbringing. "For me, I guess it was totally normal, matter of fact, I'm a success story but still…" rarity started saying but stopped, as if she was ready to reveal something she shouldn't. "It's fine, fame can cloud your true ambitions sometimes, that's coming from someone who isn't famous at all…. Wait, does that even make sense?" Tracy replied, just trying to give the first piece of advice that came from her head. Rarity chuckled and replied "no, I understand what you mean". Tracy sighed in relief and took a sip of her drink. "What's up with you and that other mare? I'm not dense, I saw the look you gave her" Tracy asked. Rarity sighed, not really wanting to tell the story but Tracy started quickly gaining a comforting trust with her.

"Well, this was years ago but that mare once enslaved this entire town" Rarity started, Tracy gasped at this reveal. "It all started because her pride was damaged, the first time she put everyone in danger by getting an Ursa major into town….." Rarity continued, Tracy was shocked she didn't remember something that big happening. "I already told you the second time, it's just…. I'm not sure whether I fully trust her or not, especially since she's getting close to one of my friends…." Rarity finished. Tracy was trying to come up with the right combo of words to respond but… "rarity… I don't even know what to say….." Tracy replied. "It's fine, I needed a vent, advice isn't really that necessary" Rarity replied, Tracy nodded in acknowledgment. "Hey…. who knows, maybe she truly changed and I'm just being a paranoid jerk or maybe it's something a little more petty" rarity was now just running through multiple thoughts in her mind with Tracy. For Tracy, this wasn't something she minded, matter of fact, she valued this time. This was her getting to know her idol and bringing her down to level more relatable to her. "Sometimes, you gotta leave things to chance, hope things end up better" Tracy replied, Rarity nodded in response. She might not have completely dropped her misgivings about Trixie but it did give her something to think about. "You know what Tracy, you're a nice mare to be around, genuinely, I mean it" Rarity said. Tracy wasn't sure if rarity was a very lightweight drinker or she actually just became friends with her. It didn't seem like the former, so she took the latter and ran with it. Usually this would be something that drove her to unabashed excitement but instead, she felt warmth. "Honestly, I'm just glad you let me get to know you….." Tracy replied, immediately regretting how corny those words sounded coming out of her mouth. "Awee, thank you" Rarity replied with a smile. "Yeah, remember when we were acting kind of cool before, now I just realized I'm friends with rarity friggin belle, screw calm!" Tracy thought and thanks to the presence of alcohol, she had an excuse for a pass out right now. "Oh dear, should have asked if she fell on the lighter side of drinking" Rarity said, paying for both their drinks and struggling to carry her newly passed out friend out of the bar with a hefty bit of magic.

If spike and Fluttershy actual made it to the bar in question, they both would have seen rarity taking a drink with a friend. "I saw the chairs and I thought, hey, this looks like where a bar might be…." Fluttershy was trying to explain. They ended up in a lounge area towards the back of the club. Spike wasn't really sure why Fluttershy felt as if she needed to explain herself, maybe it's because he didn't even say a word yet. "It's ok, really, we still have a pretty nice place to sit" Spike replied. It truly was however, it was a dimly lit area in the back of the club filled with rows of tables and chairs. "These weren't here last time though, maybe they were moved in after we left…" spike thought to himself. It was kind of weird to him that there was no real food and yet this feels like a place you're supposed to eat things at. "So… how have things been with you?" spike asked Fluttershy. "Well, it's really been quiet but that's been everyday…." Fluttershy replied, spike then had time to think about how his days have been. If you look at the bigger picture, things haven't been that active besides one big thing…. "So Trixie living with you, that must be interesting, huh?" Fluttershy asked. It has been 3 weeks since Trixie and he made the deal and interesting things have occurred. "Some days are better than others but…" spike stopped himself, really thinking about what he was about to say. She didn't really do that much at all besides sometimes holding a conversation. Still, he felt something changing inside him ever since she came to this town. "Spike, what else were you going to say?" Fluttershy asked with concern in her voice. Spike then just realized what other possibilities his silence lead to, he quickly corrected this error. "All I was gonna say is that…. She's been having some kind of effect on me, nothing more or less" spike replied, Fluttershy immediately recalled the 2nd time she talked to Trixie when she was cleaning that shop. "You know, it seems the same way with her, I just don't know what she could do for you….." Fluttershy replied. This wasn't necessarily an insult because she kinda had the right idea here. What effect could Trixie possibly have on spike? He had a little time to think about it but there were only two different things he could truly think of to tell her. "Well I wouldn't be at this party, that's a start…" spike said, Fluttershy nodded in acknowledgment. He really couldn't add anything else of mention that she personally did. "I'm still trying to put together the pieces a little but I don't feel used, that's good, right?" spike asked, really questioning himself. "No, I haven't seen anything wrong in my opinion, I'll make sure to call it out when I see it through" Fluttershy replied. If anything, Fluttershy is the one pony that's changed the least throughout the years' personality wise. "Really embodying your element, huh?" spike jokingly asked. This made Fluttershy smile and that was always a pleasant thing to see for spike.

Spike looked up to see that vinyl wasn't even on the turntables, it was some grey colt with a waistcoat and black sunglasses. "Why is he wearing sunglasses indoors?" spike asked, Fluttershy actually came up with her own response to that. "Well, why does vinyl constantly wear goggles?" Fluttershy asked jokingly. "Good point" spike replied as they both chuckled, the question of where exactly vinyl is was still on the table. Well, that was the case until spike heard the opening of a door a couple feet next to them revealing vinyl poking out of that doorway. "How convenient, hey guys!" vinyl exclaimed, both he and Fluttershy waved at her. "Come on in, we got Trixie in here telling one heck of a story!" vinyl had a very visible excitement in her. "I guess that's that, come on, let's go" spike said, Fluttershy nodded as they both got up and made their way to the open door. "Oh and one more thing, style, that's why" vinyl said, implying that she heard spike and Fluttershy's comment about her goggles. "Well, that settles that" spike said, making Fluttershy laugh. "Come on now, I'm not that funny…." spike thought, inwardly blushing.

"I like this place, lack of noise is the best feature" Fluttershy commented. The backstage area they were taken to was very basic. It was an all-white room with a long wood table in the middle of the room. There was an office in the back of the room and on the side was a smaller table with items to make assorted teas with. Something that bothered spike about this tea making table was the big sign taped to it with the label "unicorns only!". "I can make tea, if I have thumbs and can breathe fire, I can make some stupid tea…" spike was thinking, completely on a different tangent. "Spike, would you like to make yourself some tea?" Octavia asked him, ending his tangent. "Oh, of course, I've been thirsty all day!" spike exclaimed, heading towards the tea table. He ripped the sign off the table, giving himself a small satisfaction. "Could you also make me tea as well?" Fluttershy asked, spike nodded in response. As spike was making the tea, he finally started asking the question he had for Trixie. "So, you kinda disappeared on us, I guess you did fine here?' spike asked while making the tea. "Well why wouldn't I, do you know who you're looking at?!" Trixie exclaimed. Spike nodded, just glad to at least hear she didn't run into any issues. "Well, you weren't exactly oozing confidence…." Octavia quickly replied, this made Trixie huff in annoyance. "Anyways, we were talking and I almost forgot about something…." vinyl started saying. Trixie glanced at her, hoping that she completely forgot about… "you owe us a backstory!" vinyl exclaimed. "Really now?" Spike asked, not even trying to hide his intrigue. Trixie deeply sighed, genuinely hoping enough conversation would help them forget that she said that. Spike finished making the tea and returned to the table, passing Fluttershy's tea to her as well. Spike took a sip out of his tea and was ready for Trixie to at least tell tidbits of her life for the past couple years. "Well, where do I even begin, how much do I truly want to say…" Trixie thought to herself. Everyone was looking at her, ready for whatever story she had to tell and at that moment she came up with the perfect story. "Ok, how about…. My first time coming back?" Trixie asked, everyone in the room nodded and Trixie prepared herself to tell such a story.

"Even before I came back, my name was known and not for a good reason..." Trixie started saying, Spike had a pretty good idea of why this was the case. "well when you enslave an entire town, it's not like it doesn't become newsworthy of spreading..." Octavia interjected, Trixie sighed but still tried to continue her story. "right, anyways..., so heading into town seemed like the complete opposite of a good idea at this point, but I did it anyways, I don't know, something told me to come back that I'm not sure of to this day" Trixie said, preparing for the undetailed brevity of her story to cause disappointment in everyone. "what was that?!" vinyl exclaimed in disappointment, Trixie was surprised in her interest with her story. "I'm on team vinyl, that was barely anything, you cheated!" spike joined right alongside vinyl with her reaction. "please, give us a little something more..." Octavia said, her reaction being one on the softer side. Maybe it was Octavia's reaction or the unexpected full interest in her interest but she decided to continue. "ok, um, well, it's a little personal, so please be nice" Trixie said, spike attention was immediately peaked, everyone immediately nodded in response. trixie took a deep breath, cause although it's ok now, it's probably one of the more sorer subjects she deals with. "it starts... with a mare named rose".

 _to be continued_

 **Author's note: hey! it's been too long, so now comes the updates. there is really no grand reason as to why this chapter took 3 months and it's shorter than the last few. I've been getting involved in more and more things and I really write this story for fun. this is the first story I've written in a while I didn't just wanna immediately throw out. so there's that, so what does that mean for further chapters. as hinted with the last line in the chapter, chapter 9 will dive into a backstory but will also move the current story forward. as an apology for having anyone who likes this story wait so long, you'll get this brand new chapter this month and my plan is to at least have one chapter a month. so please follow to be alerted when this story updates and leave a review if you want, helps me know people are reading. thank you so much for reading and see you next time. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: trixie and rose

 **An: small early warning, my canon for trixie stops at magic duel for story purposes.**

Rose, the name didn't ring a bell for anyone in the room but that just peaked their intrigue even more. "She's now my friend but wasn't before, i had to do a lot to win her trust, i didn't meet her in ponyville actually…" trixie started saying, everyone was nodding along, trying to speed up her pacing. "Apparently, the ursa major incident caused a bit more property damage then i thought, let's just say that there was a store in this town that wasn't before…." trixie said with a nervous laugh. Only one of them in the room chuckled and that was vinyl. Trixie wasn't sure if she genuinely thought that was funny or was laughing out of pity. "Anyways, after i left the last time, i sent myself away and managed to find work at a rock farm, it was fine, i made good pay, it allowed me to move on…" trixie said, giving everyone as many smaller details as possible. "My initial deal was to never return to ponyville, leave my mistakes behind me but if it weren't for that one encounter, that one month with her, i wouldn't be here…" trixie said, leading into her story.

 _1 year earlier_

 _The winds were rougher on this side of the woods, the side that trixie decided to stop at. She started feeling weary and needed a break. She laid down on her back, burying herself in the thick grassland of this unknown area. Dew was still peppered on the grass and that genuinely made it better for her. She desperately wanted to find at least one lake to bathe in. not just for cleanliness, but to also feel cool water around her coat. Trixie sighed, finding herself in thought of the aimlessness of her journey. It's been months since she left the rock farm, making enough to buy herself a carriage. "Work the farm, buy the carriage, but now what?" she asked herself. All she had in her mind was her need to run. She needed freedom, from responsibility, from humiliation, from everything. "Maybe, i should have thought this out more…." she thought to herself, not knowing the sacrifices she'd make to take a journey like this one. "Hell, it's even been a while since i've had a legit conversation with another pony, i might be going insane" she said to herself, not even noticing how loud she was being. Maybe it's the fact that these woods looked as if they were abandoned. These suspicions were soon proven wrong as trixie heard a rustling in the deeper parts of the woods. She looked to her left and saw eyes staring right at her. But as soon as she saw these eyes, the eyes dashed away further into the left side of the woods. "Hey!" she yelled, this didn't even make the mare stop. She quickly picked up her carriage and quickly dashed into the woods after her._

 _Trixie blindly dashed into the woods, hoping that those eyes weren't a delusion of hers. She isn't even sure why she's chasing this possibly non-existent mare. She was running out of breath and decided to stop for a second. She looked around her and she immediately lost the mysterious set of eyes. "Now i'm in the middle of nowhere, eh, not different then before…" trixie said passively. "Wait, if there was a pony in these woods, that's means a village could be near by!" trixie thought to herself. This slightly brightened her mood but it still meant she would most likely still have a long trip to go. However, in her mind, the positives outweigh the negatives. She then picked up her carriage and started to take it a little slower, thinking she'll eventually find some kind of village. As she was walking, trixie admired the falling leaves that were peppering the ground. She looked around and saw she was almost buried in trees, completely alone. it wasn't really that much of a difference to most of her time spent traveling. "I'd love to say it isn't getting to me but….." trixie thoughts were aflame once again. This thought stopped her walking and made her look around once more. For some reason, looking at the woods surrounding her once, this deep sweep of dark emotion made her collapse to the ground. "I am and will always be….." her mind was taking control once again. "Such weakness, utter weakness!" she was trying to fight whatever feelings she had. A single tear fell from her face, trying to prevent breaking into a full sob. She sat on the leaf colored ground and took a couple deep breaths. "This is new, definitely a terrible, new feeling" she mistakenly said out loud, her inner thoughts started slipping out. "You're panicking, it'll pass, it always does….." a voice that was distinctly female was echoing throughout the woods. This immediately gained trixie's attention, the voice seemed to be coming from right in front of her. "Could that be the pony i saw in the woods?" trixie thought to herself. She had a lack of options at this point, maybe calling this voice out could get some result. "Who are you, show yourself!" trixie yelled. For a couple moments, the silence returned and then a mare slowly emerged from behind a tree. She was a red colored mare with a blue mane colored, something that trixie didn't think clashed well. But it didn't help that although it seemed she tried to keep her mane in a bun, it was frizzled and unkempt. Trixie emotions were a mix of fear and excitement, not really sure how to address this new mare. The mare started walking towards her and without knowing how to react to this, trixie started backing away. "Oh, i'm sorry!. Am i scaring you?!" the mare exclaimed, instantly stopping in her tracks. "You didn't answer my question, who are you?" trixie asked, still not sure about this mysterious mare. "Oh… well, ok then, first of all, my name's rose, rose weathers…." the mysterious mare addressed herself before continuing. "I'm lost too, usually i know where i'm going when i do expeditions….." rose seemed to be ready to go on and on about her entire journey. Her scattershot manner of speech gave trixie a lighter feeling, gaining trixie's trust. "Ok, ok!" trixie interjected, stopping her frantic explanation. "So….. i was wondering….. Could i….. I don't know, join you?" rose asked, immediately flipping to a different question. Trixie was taken aback by this mare's immediate trust in her but still… "sure…."_

 _Present day_

"So we traveled together,and we actually found a village, which took a day…" trixie was saying, spike and vinyl were hooked onto every word. Something about her story was bothering octavia though. "How long were you and this rose traveling?" octavia asked while she was speaking. Trixie looked at her and casually replied "about a month, i thought i hinted at that in the beginning though…." trixie said, puzzled. "It's ok, now weren't you responsible for the destruction of her home though, when does her reaction to that come along?" octavia railed her with another question, like a tabloid interviewer looking for dirt. Trixie suddenly stopped speaking, her eyes starting to look downwards. Before she had her eyes fixated on everyone, telling her story without any of the fear that she started with. "Trixie, are you…" spike obviously was the one to first speak up, it was just his nature. "I'm….. i….. Uh, can we stop for today!" trixie nervously exclaimed. Octavia stared at her, curious but at the same time, worried if she caused her any type of distress. "As long as you bring the rest, i'll even come to the treehouse for that, ok?" vinyl said, reserving her less extreme personality for a softer tone. Trixie didn't respond for a solid minute, it was almost like a maelstrom was manifesting inside her head. She did eventually nod in reply and everybody started making their leave out of the room, spike and fluttershy trailing behind trixie.

"I think….. I'm gonna head home, we can meet up sometime next week" fluttershy said, everyone was outside of the club at this point. Spike nodded in reply, trixie was standing around in silence, watching them. "I'll see you soon then…." spike looked up at the sky and saw a full moon was out tonight. "Moon looks pretty tonight…" spike said, fluttershy moved a little closer in towards spike. Spike looked straight into her eyes, the moonlight cascading on her face. "You look….." before spike even finished this sentence, they finally shared their first real kiss. They were so into each other, they both even forgot that trixie was just standing right behind them. Trixie had a mix of emotions about this, she just wasn't sure what kind they exactly were yet. Spike and fluttershy had to eventually separate, they both didn't even have the words to describe how they felt right now. "Um….. i…." spike was trying to get something out, now usually this would be fluttershy's place to fill in the blank. All she did was fill that blank in with silly, giddy laughter. Spike, just looking at her, put on a smile of pure euphoria. Trixie, at least for the moment, was happy for the drake and decided to smirk at the display. "I'll see you then…." fluttershy blurted, almost dashing away from him. "Oh….. ok!" spike exclaimed, trying to let his voice carry to her while she was dashing. Spike then signaled trixie that he was about to start walking and then suddenly, it started raining. "Come on, it's starts raining now!, what about during our moment, huh weather ponies!" spike exclaimed, yelling at forces that would never hear him. This made trixie chuckle as both of them were walking.

"Believe it or not, that might actually be my first kiss, that's crazy…." spike said, really talking to himself but leaving it open for any kind of response. "I would be lying to you if i said the same thing….." trixie said passively, this immediately gained spike's attention. "What!?" spike asked, trixie nodded in response with a smile. "You think my life was strictly in ponyville?, come on, i'm a traveling magician but at the same time, it was only one colt, nothing spectacular…" trixie said, once again being very passive about these details. "Wow, someone could actually stand you for the duration of a relationship" spike said with a laugh, really meaning it as a joke. Trixie didn't take it this way, she sighed heavily. "Hey….. i didn't mean it that way, it was just a joke" spike said, immediately returning to a softer tone. Trixie nodded, looked up at the rain covered sky, the drops falling on her face. "Matter of fact, i have to thank you…." spike started saying. Trixie's attention was immediately gained. "I really had a good time coming out here, maybe parties aren't such a bad thing…." spike finished, trixie just nodded. "Damn it!, you aren't helping my cluttered mind!" trixie thought to herself. "Speaking of the party, sorry i choked on telling the story, i should be over it but i'm not….." trixie said, spike nodded in reply. "Look, i don't know if it helps, but want me to tell you something about me?" spike asked frankly in tone. Trixie nodded, spike then continued on. " a couple years ago, i found out that with being a dragon, i'm actually an immortal being" spike started with a clincher. Trixie couldn't even contain the gasp that she had. "This means that eventually, everything that i'm doing, every connection i've made, is going to mean nothing to anyone else but me and maybe the alicorns, i don't know, not the point though" spike said, each word started hurting him more and more to say. "Unlike me, you will eventually die and be remembered for something, trixie lulamoon will be who you make her" spike said, sighing towards the end but he wasn't done yet. "If you let you past dictate you, you will become your past, but if you let it go and work towards the mare you wanna be, you can be remembered as a different pony" spike finished. Trixie was blown away by his words, they almost fit perfectly for her. These were things she needed to think about, things that could truly help her. "Thank you, for almost everything, if i've never said it, well, there it is" trixie said with a beaming smile. Spike was caught off guard by the smile but it was still welcome to him. He nodded in reply and looked to his left. Realizing that they made it to the treehouse, spike took a relaxed breath. "Home sweet home, that furnace is calling me!" spike exclaimed, getting a small chuckle out of trixie. Spike opened the door and was walking inside but trixie was just standing outside. Spike was almost ready to close the door before seeing that trixie was still just standing outside. "Aren't you coming in?" spike asked, trixie seemed frozen before spike addressed her. "Um, i think i'm gonna walk around for a bit, i got something to think about…" trixie replied, spike nodded and replied "alright, your choice, just letting you know, it gets pretty cold out here". Trixie chuckled at the sentiment, knowing this very well. "Don't worry, i be back by my curfew" trixie said jokingly. Spike chuckled and let her go, leaving the mare walking around town in her thoughts.

It was still raining outside and yet trixie didn't regret her decision to take a walk around town. The raindrops falling on her face actually felt relaxing to her. It was almost a cold pack for her brain at this point. "I could flake, tell everyone i forgot the rest of….." trixie almost said but immediately thought how stupid this would be. "Of course, it would be obvious that i conveniently forget the most important part of the story!" trixie thought to herself in frustration. She's been running and abandoning her past but yet, these things keep haunting her. Especially with the influx of personalities wanting to accept her, be her friend. "That's why they sting, every time he does something nice, every word of encouragement i get…." trixie thought to herself. While she was walking, she found a park bench in the middle of the town. "It is rain, i would definitely be dumb for actually trying to sit…" while trixie's thoughts were saying one thing, her body did something completely different. She was already sitting on the bench, no matter how damp it already was. "At Least the bench isn't a puddle" trixie commented, trying to find some kind of win with her choice. "What's keeping me from moving forward?" that was the only question that she wanted answered. It's the question that years of time still couldn't answer for her. "I've tried everything…" before trixie could go on any longer. " _Everything… are you sure if that's the case my dear"_ trixie was taken aback, she looked next to her to make sure that nobody snuck up on her. The voice sounded familiar to her, she could almost say her name at this point. "Lun….." before she could even finish, she started feeling sluggish. "I didn't feel tired before…." trixie's last thought was before falling into a slumber.

" _Ughh…." trixie grunted, slowly waking from what felt like a forced slumbered. Her eyes were fluttering open, to discover a horrifying fact. She was above ground by a decent amount… "dear celestia, please tell me i'm dreaming!" trixie exclaimed, immediately jolting out of her waking up phase. "It's fine, you mus…. don't worry" trixie once again heard what sounded to be luna but this time, she felt her hoof tap her shoulder. Trixie turned around to see royalty herself speaking to her. "Lu...luna?" trixie asked in disbelief, luna nodded in reply while smiling. "Now take the time and look at the beauty of the clouds, untethered by things such as fear" luna said, keeping that warm smile on her face. Trixie then realized that her hooves seemed to feel planted firmly on a surface while being in the sky. She decided to take luna's advice and was blown away by what she saw. The sky was the clearest blue, she saw cloud formations seeming to be pegasus houses. Weather ponies shaping the clouds around her, different pegasi flying around the sky and down into ponyville. This actually started calming trixie down, giving her a perspective she's never had before. "Are you calmed, ready for what i'm going to show you?" luna asked, trixie looking at her puzzled but yet she still nodded. "Memories are sometimes disordered fragments, fragments that can be manipulated by the pony who owns them" luna started saying, trixie started immediately realizing what she was about to do. "I can travel throughout memories, memories are the construct of the mind and can infect dreams as well, there is an important memory you need to see…." luna said, then her horn started glowing, luna's eyes closed in concentration. Trixie looked around and the sky was no more, the area around her started rapidly flipping from place to place. She saw herself in each of these quick location flashes. She closed her eyes, not really excited to see herself, having a feeling about which memory she was going to pick for a visit._

" _Rose, rose!" trixie heard her voice calling her friends name, her eyes were still closed with fear. "Trixie, you can open your eyes now…." luna said in a softer voice, aware of trixie's unease. Trixie took a deep breath and she finally opened her eyes and the area around her was darkly familiar. "This is….." trixie couldn't even get the entire sentence out. What she saw was a little shop in complete disarray and shambles. This little shop in fact belonged to the friend but haunting memory, rose weathers. "I know, just breathe, there is something important here to show, i promise you" luna said to her, trying her best to comfort the shaken mare. From this point on, trixie decided to attempt putting on a brave face. "Why here, why now….?" trixie asked, regaining her braver, standing straight looking directly at luna. "I feel that a lesson could be learned here, now let's hurry along, i'm stretching my time for you" luna replied, rushing her along, an unusually out of character thing for her. "Ok, i understand" trixie replied, luna nodded and continued on. "Now do you remember this day?" luna asked, trixie smirked and chuckled, remembering this day in a weirdly fond way. "Yeah, uh…. Me and her were still having growing pains, she was…. Well she was still angry with me after finding out…." trixie sentences started breaking down. "Anyways, this specific day was actually our worst argument…" trixie finished, sighing as the memory went down as normal._

 **A memory snippet from 3 months ago**

" _What?!" rose yelled from the backroom, replying to trixie's call. "Come on, i need you here, it's something you need to see…!" trixie replied. Rose was honestly doing a whole lot of nothing, sitting in the middle of a shambled backroom. She sighed, feeling more comfortable wallowing in destruction then going to talk to the mare who caused it. She got up and walked out of the back room, immediately seeing trixie's face behind the front counter. "What is it?" rose asked with a bite of attitude. "As much as i'd love to say we could do it…. We need to hire some kind of contractor for this place or….." trixie was about to finish but rose violently interjected "i am not abandoning this shop!" trixie wasn't too proud to admit that rose actually managed to scare her right now. "Ok…. ok, then what about a contractor…?" trixie asked, rose sarcastically chuckled before responding. "Maybe you're too stupid to realize but this entire shop was everything financially, and it's gone, we know who to blame for that…." trixie already blamed herself enough but at this point she's had enough. "Enough!, ok, i get it, i blame myself every single day, but i've had enough of your bullying!" trixie exclaimed, this broke rose from her sarcasm and made her angry. "What!, you destroy my home, my way of earning any type of bit in this town and you have the nerve! To call me a bully, screw you and your martyr crap!" rose was uncontrollably furious. "Haven't i already told you, the beast smashed your home, i just brought it here for a stupid trick!" trixie snapped back, genuinely thinking that was a good response. "Why the hell….." rose said, sighing, trying to calming herself down. "All i'm saying is that, all i'm doing is trying to help you, make up for it…." trixie barely finished the sentence before rose interjected "so what, you feel bad and i'm without a shop, fair trade, really fair trade" she said with another sarcastic bite. Trixie didn't know what else to say, what she could reply with to counter. She was just frozen, mixed with emotions of frustration and hurt, not knowing how to deal with them. "Finally you shut up, dear celestia, why did i let you into my shop….." rose said, trixie heard a tearful crack in her voice. "This was everything for me, what…. What am i supposed to do now?!" rose didn't care, she couldn't care the weight of this anymore, trixie then heard the most painful cry in her life. Trixie then slowly backed away, walking out the door, feeling the weight on her back. As she was outside of the shop, approaching her carriage, ready to run away again. Then, almost immediately something popped into her head, she rushed to the back of her carriage, having a specific item in her mind._

 _ **Present dream**_

" _So, it was that day, i traveled across to a completely different…, wait, wouldn't you know this already?" trixie asked luna, luna nodded and replied "yes i do dear, but i so desperately want to hear it from you…". Trixie nodded, not really sure why this was the case but she then continued on. "I traveled to manehatten, so that someone can appraise the gem that i wore on my cape, it was worth enough bits for a contractor and much more, that gem was the very last thing my father gave me before i became a full grown mare" trixie finished, luna nodded in response. "Does you doing that, at that moment, matter to you at all?" luna asked, trixie had to think on how she responded. "To be honest, to this day, i still don't know…." trixie replied, luna nodded once again. "Why do you find it so hard to forgive yourself, even when so many around you are willing to lift the burden?" luna asked, the questions piercing more and more into trixie. "I can't answer that for you, not yet, not in a sensible way…." trixie said, luna let out a sigh for the first time during their conversation. Trixie was interested in this sentiment but before she even had time to comment, luna was ready speak. "It's hard….. Trying to leave the past in the past, not forgiving what you once were….." luna words were emotionally shaky, trixie could tell this was coming from the heart. "Your first instinct is to run from it, but the past keeps catching up to you, beating you up, keeping you up at night….." trixie was hanging onto each and every word that she was speaking to her. "You've done the first step, you trying to be a better mare, now tell yourself that, everyday, take it one step at a time" luna's voice became a calming and motherly one. "Want me to tell you something, promise to tell no one else?" luna asked, trixie nodded and luna continued on. "I'm the am the guardian of the night and i still have trouble sleeping….." luna said, trixie was genuine surprised that royalty like her was opening up like this. "It's who i was, nightmare moon, still, i can't shake her, i can't shake her actions and she's the voice in my ear telling me i'm still worthless, that i'm not worthy of anyone's affection….." luna was saying, trixie was once again awestruck by her. "You know, my sister, she tells me "when i look up at the night sky, i see you, your compassion and strength, guarding the night "." luna said, mimicking celestia's voice._

" _I don't see that, still don't, i see a monster feeding off the happiness of others but at the same time, i aspire to see the guardian" luna continued, trixie actually started choking up hearing luna speak on herself. "So, everyday, i continue to want that for myself, it keeps me going…." luna was talking but she stopped as both her and trixie saw a small crack in the sky outside the store window. "Oh, that time flew fast!" luna exclaimed, instantly changing tone. "Trixie…." luna called to her, trixie was already in full attention of luna. "I'm extending an invitation to the castle, i want to truly meet you, i also want you to be my…" before luna could finish…_

Trixie's eyes shot open, her eyes darted around to realize that she was no longer outside. She actually felt quite comfortable where she was. "Am i….." she thought, realizing that she was in her room at the treehouse. She still didn't feel like getting up quite yet, luna's words were weighing on her way more then she thought. "A guardian…. What would be my guardian?" trixie asked herself, referring to something she would want to be more then anything. "All i want is to be good…" trixie was thinking but then she upped her original thought "no, i want to great, great and powerful, i want my title back!" trixie exclaimed with confidence, sadly this wasn't spoken in her mind. "Looks like she's up" trixie heard what sounded like fluttershy's voice coming from downstairs. "What's she doing here?" trixie thought, then she immediately came to a conclusion. "I was outside all night, wasn't i?" trixie asked aloud, sighing in disappointment. Then trixie heard hoofsteps coming up the stairs, "she's coming…" trixie thought to herself, for some reason dreading that. Trixie sat up, ready for her arrival as she heard fluttershy's footsteps outside of her door. "Well, not necessarily, your were out there for about an hour according to spike" fluttershy said, entering her room while saying it. "Jeez, well, i don't know what to say…." trixie was about to say but fluttershy interjected "no need, it's what friends are for" fluttershy followed that with a trademark smile. "Does this mare ever get angry….. I don't think i wanna know what that would look like" trixie thought to herself. The discomfort with fluttershy was still inside her, a discomfort that was non existent just a day ago. "Well….. I'm going to go see a friend" trixie said, not really having anything else she wants to say. Trixie walked out the door, saying absolutely nothing to fluttershy. While trixie was walking downstairs, the intentional silence from her bothered fluttershy. Before trixie even had a chance to open the front door, fluttershy spoke up. "Hey, trixie" fluttershy called out, getting trixie attention. "Are we ok?" she asked, a simple and genuine question asked to trixie. Trixie didn't have anything to mad about when it came to fluttershy, not at all. She's not even mad. just a weird level of discomfort for a reason she can't figure out yet. "Of course, no problems here" trixie replied, forcing a smile before walking out of the door. Fluttershy sighed, not satisfied with her answer but letting it go for now.

The weather outside was perfect for today. The sky was the clearest blue and the sun shined bright. This would be one of the best days to head out to a farmers market. Sadly, for trixie, almost everyone in town thought the same exact thing. Rose's shop is placed right around where all of the vendors in town are placed. A giant fairground located outside of the main strip of houses and shops. Trixie was walking through these fairgrounds, looking straight at the small shop at the very end of these fairgrounds. However, the walking distance would be doubled due to trixie being caught up by the large mass of ponies shopping here. "Come on, how am i supposed to get there at a reasonable amount of time" trixie thought to herself, looking around to find some kind of easy opening. "Alright, just gotta take it step by step then" trixie said to herself, looking for small openings and rushing through them quickly. Still, this maneuver was barely getting her moving. She was looking around at all the different stands and saw a fruit stand. At that stand, she saw a very familiar dragon looking through all their inventory. She decided to take a detour to at least greet the dragon. "Hey!" she called out while only a few feet in front of him. This made the dragon turn immediately to see her, waved and sped up his browsing time. "I'll be right there, just give me a second!" spike called out in return, trixie nodding in response to that. Trixie decided to wait where she was, it's wasn't like she was going anywhere. Spike finished up his purchase and headed towards trixie to greet her. "Hey, looks like you're feeling well, what are you doing out here?" spike asked, trixie then replied with "just going to see a friend, she's literally at the end of this fairground". Spike nodded in reply and looked around to see the massive crowd. "Well, i'll leave you to it then, i'll see you back at the house this time?" spike asked, still having an obvious bit of concern. Trixie reassured him by nodding, appreciating his worry for her. "Alright then, i'll see you later" spike said, ending their brief conversation. "So lucky to….. Wait, what am i saying!?" trixie almost said to herself, her mind being high on some kind of metaphorical substance. For now she ignored whatever she's feeling and focused on the task at hand. She continued maneuvering through crowds, having a determination to see rose today.

With only her patience as a sacrifice, she finally made it to rose's shop. Oddly, her shop didn't have flocks of ponies attracted to it. Only her normal customer base on a decent day, "guess like her shop isn't the most appealing for some" trixie thought to herself. She walked up to the door and proceeded to enter the shop. Her and rose immediately locked eyes, she wasn't currently taking any customers at the register. "Trixie…..?" rose said, making sure that she was accurate with her description. "Hey rose…." trixie replied, giving rose a big smile on her face. "Nice to see you, let me just finish up with this one customer" rose said, completely ignoring her one day absence from work. "I can explain why i…" trixie was about to say but rose interjected quickly with "no need, lucky you picked a day without any real significant traffic, so i managed on my own" rose was looking at an indecisive mare that was rummaging through different items in the shop. "That's good" trixie replied, deciding to look around the shop herself. She saw dozens of new and interesting items that weren't there before. "Guess like you had a good haul" trixie commented. "Yeah, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, this time, well, you can obviously see" rose replied, trixie nodded and continued to look around the small shop. "Excuse me?" the mare who was looking around before trixie finally spoke to rose. "Yes mam?" rose replied in courtesy. "This mask over here, what kind of wood is it made of?" the mare asked, pointing at an mask with tribal markings and an oval look. "Hmm…. well, from what i recall, a tribe existing long before us killed a timberwolf and made that mask" rose said in a theatrical voice, hard selling the mask. "That is….." before trixie could even comment on the validity of that story, rose gave her a stern look. "totally true, i've heard that story before, totally cool find rose!" trixie said in a falsely excited manner. "Cool…. I'll take it, my husband would love this!" the mare said, picking it up and placing it on the front desk. "I bet he will, now your total will be 4 bits" rose said, finishing up the sale with this mare. This mare finally left the store leaving only trixie and rose at the shop. "I'll close up for today, let's go to the cakes, better place to talk and i'm starving" rose said, trixie chuckled and nodded in reply. As they walked out of the shop, trixie asked "was that story actually true?" rose gave a shrug and replied "the pony who gave me this mask thought so, it looked cool, so, let's just say yes" trixie smirked at this sentiment and they both walked out the door.

They both managed to obtain a seat at a modestly busy day for the cakes. Trixie wasn't hungry so she decided not to get anything but that wasn't the case at all for rose. "Hmmm, that looks great, but those cookies look even better, you know what, i'll take em both!" rose said with a hearty laugh. "Got it, is there anything else that you'd like to have?" the new waitress asked, pinkie no longer being a server at the shop. "I guess i'll take a chocolate shake, while my friend is holding the tab" trixie said, the waitress writing that down as well. "Ok, coming right up!" the waitress perked up with a friendly energy. As she drifted away, rose commented "i wonder what happened to their last server, she was a ton of fun". Trixie sighed, knowing immediately who she was talking about. "Not everyone stays here long term" trixie replied, rose nodded in agreement with her. "Hey, i know i said i didn't mind and all, but why weren't you at work yesterday?" rose asked. "Well, i had a small taste of contract work, helped a new friend with a job" trixe replied, rose was immediately interested with one specific detail. "You made a new friend, well, that's interesting" rose replied, trixie nodded in response. "Well, i already told you i found a place, it happened to be with this new friend" trixie replied, rose gasped. "Wow, who is this nice mare or colt?" rose asked. This put trixie in an interesting spot, this new friend wasn't necessarily either of these things. "Well, neither, he…. Well, might be the only dragon in this town" trixie said, seeing no reason to hide this fact. Rose would have done a spit take if she had a drink available to her. "What?!, but aren't dragons like huge?!" rose asked in shock. "Shouldn't you know this miss world traveler?, no, this dragon is only slightly taller then the average pony" trixie replied with a chuckle. "Be careful still, dragons are very unpredictable" rose replied but trixie had an interesting type of reply. "I'm sure i'll be safe rose, this one is really sweet…." it only took a second for rose to pick up on the way she said that. "No way….. Have you…." rose was about to ask but trixie quickly interjected "oh, no, not at all, did the way i say that come off wrong?". Rose nodded in reply, trixie sighing in disappointment. "Were friends, nothing more, nothing less" trixie clarified, rose smirking, ready to say something. "That might be true but you might be caught up in feelings though?" rose replied, trixie not wanting this to be true. "Of course not, not me, pfft!, caught up in feelings…" trixie dismissed, rose shaking her head in disbelief. "Jeez, sometimes your just too transparent" rose replied, trixie blushing at that comment. "Look…. Um, it's complicated, can we move on?" trixie asked, rose then nodded to spare her friend of embarrassment. "So besides that mess, what else is going on?" rose asked, trixie trying to find a adequate topic. "Oh yeah, wanna hear a cool story, your valiant employee protecting the store with her life!" trixie replied with her voice in a heroic slant. "Oh yeah, you heroic flank destroyed half my plates" rose replied, deflating trixie's heroism.

"You wanna hear it or not?" trixie said in annoyance. Rose shrugged and nodded, starting trixie off on her story. "Well, a crazy mare decided to rob the shop and threatened to kill me!" trixie exclaimed, giving her own colored version of the story. "She didn't hold back, charged up her biggest blast, one that can destroy the store, but the mighty trixie conjured a wondrous shield!" she continued, rose buying her version less and less. "The mare cowered in fear, at the great and powerful trixie!" she finished, gaining a base in her voice. "Ok, sure, great story, how much of that was born in this realm of truth?" rose asked sarcastically. "Well, all of it of course!" trixie replied keeping her heroic voice. Rose chuckled in disbelief of the story but she decided to let her have this one. "Alright, your excellence, i'll believe you" rose replied, trixie smirked at her and finally their orders came in. "sorry it took so long, i'm kinda new at this" the new waitress said shyly. "I'm am sitting in front of a slice of chocolate cake and amazing smelling pack of cookies, your fine my dear" rose replied, getting the waitress and trixie to laugh. "Enjoy" the waitress said, leaving trixie and rose to their orders. "Hey, actually i wanted to talk to you about something…" trixie was about to ask something but rose interjected "were good, you've asked this before, it's pretty clear now, so why ask it again?". "Jeez, am i that readable?" trixie thought to herself, not knowing if that'll become a problem. "Well, it's just, i remembered that fight we had, months ago, it was apart of a dream i had" trixie replied. Rose nodded, remembering that moment in particular. "Are you asking me for a reason, why that dream occurred? , because i'm sorry but i got none" rose replied, trixie shook her head in response. "No, i have my reason, it's just crazy to me how were friends now" trixie replied, rose took a bite out of cake and nodded. "Yeah, i mean, i'll admit i wanted nothing to do with you, but what you did, because of that, i can live the life i've always dreamed of" rose replied, trixie smiled at that. "Well, all i did was sell a gem, nothing that special" trixie dismissed but rose quickly replied "so, instead of running away with thousands of bits, forgetting about me, you came back and gave me that, asking for nothing more then to be my employee, that's apparently nothing in your book". Rose even chuckled at that ridiculous coming from trixie's mouth. "I did that, me, i was capable of that" trixie thought to herself, remembering luna's advice for her. "Sorry, it's just, remembering is starting to help me" trixie replied, rose nodded and said "if it's helps you, then go for it, i'll remind you 50 times a day if i have to!" rose exclaimed, both of them breaking into laughter. "Now if you don't mind, i'm ready to chow down" rose said, trixie then replied with her own comment "now the tab is on you right?". Rose was dead silent and just started eating her chocolate cake. Trixie sighed, regretting even getting that chocolate shake.

"Ok, ok, i'll pay you back, 60 bits, mental note!" rose exclaimed, trixie peeved at her for having almost 55 bits worth of food at the cakes. "Well, i gotta go, it's late" trixie said, looking up at the night sky outside of the cakes shop. "You'll be at work tomorrow, right?" rose asked, trixie nodding in reply. "Well there you go, that's about 70 bits easy" rose replied, trixie chucking and replying "how about an extra 60 bits on top of that?". Rose smiled at her, giving a silent treatment once more and walking away. Trixie then started walking back to the tree house which isn't too far from the cakes. Trixie reminisced on her good day with rose, wanting more like them. "Were friends and i don't even remember the last time we hung out like that" trixie thought to herself. As she was getting closer to the treehouse, she was reminded of something from her dream including luna. "Did she say something about extending an invitation…." before trixie could even finish the thought, she saw the treehouse and spike standing right outside it. "Um, trixie, you might wanna come inside for this one" spike said, trixie nodded and followed the drake inside.

Trixie couldn't believe what she was reading, it was a letter on official parchment but the writing was so informal. "Hi ms lulamoon, it's me, luna, this is that invitation that i was meaning to send to you, things have been so busy but it was so personally important to me for you to get this….. i barely managed. Inside are two train tickets for a ride here to you and spike, this is the best i can do for now. If you can't make it for the date listed on the tickets, please write me a letter telling me so and i'll get back to you as soon as possible. I meant it when i said i really wanted to meet you. Plus, i have a very interesting proposition for you, i think you'd like it.

P.s: also, this is for spike. Twilight will be available on the date listed but her schedule has been pretty booked, i can't promise any other day but today for you to see her. I think she'll be pretty happy to see you.

Luna

"The date on the tickets are listed for tomorrow afternoon, um, so yeah, do you wanna go?" spike said, taking on a nervous tone immediately. "Well, i'll have to call my…" trixie was about to say but spike quickly interjected "you have work, right, that means you don't have to go, i mean, responsibility right?" spike said this in a speedy nervous tone. "It'll be fine, rose wouldn't mind, i would love to go" trixie said with a smile. "Ok….. well, we should get some rest, it's gonna be a long trip" spike said, sighing at the end of it. "Spike, don't worry about it, your not doing this alone" trixie said, trying to comfort the dragon. "Um….. thanks a lot, i appreciate it…." spike said weakly, curling up in the living room. Trixie looked back at him, wondering why he would be this nervous. As she walked upstairs, looking at the upset drake, a statement from rose popped up in her mind once again. "Caught up in my feelings huh?" she thought, taking some rest for the next day

 **An 2: my god, guess like that promise fell through then huh? Once a month was my initial plan but then a whole crap ton of stuff got in the way plus just good ol fashion procrastination. What i can say is that the next chapter is going to be big, very big. The timetable i'm feeling this chapter will come out in February. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you so much for reading :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10.1, mini chapter: the train of everlasting memory

" _Doesn't that sound great, you'd get to stay at the castle, all perks included and still stay with me!" twilight said in a excited rush, looking at an indifferent spike in bed. "I don't know twi…." spike was about to say until twilight cut him off. "You don't have to stay, come be a….."_

"Spike, spike!" trixie jolted spike out of his half sleep dream, revealing him sitting side by side with trixie in a train seat. "Did we get there yet?" spike asked, trixie nodded and replied "no, it's only been two minutes and you're already trying to sleep". "Why do you care?" spike asked pessimistically. Trixie sighed, seeing that his attitude hasn't changed ever since they woke up this morning. She's been trying to talk to him all morning while they were packing for the ride to canterlot. "I wonder what's going on with him?" trixie thought to herself, becoming concerned with the drake. "Hey, um…. I'm sorry about my tone, i didn't mean it…" spike said in a much more downtrodden and softer tone. Trixie only nodded, not really sure whether to pry about his situation or not. "The train is nice" trixie commented, hoping to push spike to talk a little more. "I mean, this is what traveling with an official invitation from one of the princesses looks like, i mean, did you even look around you?" spike replied sincerely, trixie took a quick look around and realized an important detail. Almost all of the passengers on this train were official guard of the princesses, all wearing their trademark armor. "Ms. lulamoon, good morning" one of the guards addressed her, trixie soon realized it looked as if she was staring. "The same to you sir" trixie replied, getting a nod from the guard who addressed her, who immediately turned his head away from her. Trixie turned back around to see spike looking out the window with a feel of melancholy on his face. Trixie looked out the window and saw the small town of ponyville heading out of view. "Oh, you really like this place, huh?" trixie asked, spike said nothing on the matter. Trixie sighed once more, not tired but bored beyond belief. She looked out the window just like the disillusioned drake but even the seeing the perfect blue sky was disinteresting. "I guess this is gonna be the next 5 hours huh?" trixie asked. "Add an extra 2 and your right on the money" spike commented, trixie sighed once again but this time spike replied "and sighing isn't gonna make the train faster". "So now you talk" trixie quickly snapped back with an attitude. Spike looked back out at the window but then decided to say something "look….. I'm, well, not stoked to go" spike said, trixie confused at him restating this obvious fact. "Then why did you go?" trixie asked, spike then replied "i….. I don't know, maybe i'm morbidly curious". Trixie then asked "i hope you would be, how long has it been since you seen twilight?".

"Oh….. um, about 3 years" spike said passively. "time really has passed huh" trixie thought to herself. "I thought you two were like tight, what happened?" trixie asked, now is when she started feeling like she's pushing too much. Spike was quiet for a minute but he looked around realizing that there will be nothing changing for awhile so he might as well talk. "Well, it's not that we aren't close, we didn't even have a falling out, i chose one path and she had to choose another" spike said, trixie nodded but something didn't really add up about his story. "If that's the case, then why haven't you tried to visit or something?" trixie asked, spike had a readymade answer for this question "she's a princess, it's almost like she's constantly swamped by work". "Understandable, but have you actually tried to speak to her, you know, write a letter?" trixie asked, trying to extend the conversation. "Um….. i don't know, we all kind of lost contact like that…." spike replied, being given something to genuinely think about. "Really now, i would think at least applejack would still live in ponyville?" trixie asked. Spike shrugged his shoulders and replied "she's been m.i.a ever since the very last time all of us were in the same room". Trixie was intrigued by this fact and pressed on for more information. "And when was that?" trixie asked him, leading spike to answer. "We had a giant party at the treehouse before everyone went their separate ways, it was the last time we were able to make time each other" spike said this in more a whistleful way, almost baked in firm nostalgia. Trixie wasn't shocked by this tone he took but then spike shocked her by saying "funny thing, deciding to stay in ponyville was one of the most heat of the moment decisions i've ever made….." spike said this passively, almost as if he wasn't talking to her at all. "Sp….." trixie tried to gain his attention but that didn't stop him from talking. "It's the most vivid thing in my mind, i was sleeping in my little dragon bed upstairs, tired out from the party the night before…." trixie then gave up, deciding to listen to what he was about to say. "I was waking up but something was different, very different that day, instead of me cooking breakfast, the smell of burnt bacon hit my nose" this made both of them chuckle. "Twilight was a terrible cook but it didn't matter to me, it warmed my heart that she tried at all…." spike started choking up signified a certain part of the story coming up. "And then, i heard her hooves coming up the steps and the infamous offer came…."

 _ **3 years ago, minutes before twilight sparkle was leaving to canterlot**_

 _Spike heard the knocking on his door, knowing what about to come next. "Ok, your stomach is stronger then anypony, a twilight breakfast shouldn't be that bad" spike thought to himself before the door opened revealing an excited twilight. Twilight looked at spike's face, already knowing he had a whiff of the burned breakfast downstairs. "I know but i was in such a rush….. I wanted to do something special" twilight said, looking halfway frazzled already. This was signified by her unkempt and frizzy bedhead. "I got it, so, besides breakfast, is there anything you wanted to tell me?" spike asked, already knowing what she came up to say but scared beyond all belief. "I've asked the princesses and there seems to a vacant spot for a brand new right hand dragon…." twilight said, even with the amount of disarray her plans are in, this gave her the most excitement. Spike admired this but he already knew the answer he was about to give to her. "I'm sorry but no, i don't think i want that…" spike replied. Spike was fearful of the reaction that twilight would have after this answer. "What do you mean?" twilight asked, based on her tone, spike wasn't sure if this was denial or confusion. "I don't really want a position in the castle" spike clarified, solidifying what he wanted for himself. Twilight then sighed, spike thinking she finally realized where he stood. "Spike, think about it, you'd be part of royalty, we'd be standing side by side, taking on the world together…." twilight started making a rousing speech, it's almost as if her limited time was irrelevant to her. "Together….. Wait a minute…." spike's thought slipped out of his mouth. Twilight heard this and that excitement turned to concern. "Am i going to be….." before spike could finish his question, twilight returned to her mode of excitement. "Doesn't that sound great, you'd get to stay at the castle, all perks included and still stay with me!" twilight said in a excited rush, looking at an indifferent spike in bed. "I don't know twi…." spike was about to say until twilight cut him off. "You don't have to stay, come be a princess's assistant" twilight finally finished. This request was fresh from being asked to be rarity's assistant in manehatten, this became the final straw for spike. "I…. i can't twilight…" spike said, his voice was shaky and unsure at first. "Spike….. Are you sure?" twilight asked for the last time. The excitement in her voice was completely drained but she didn't seem sad about this answer. "Yeah, i'm sure" spike answered, finally in solidarity. Twilight nodded and walked out of the room. Spike solidarity was chipping away from him, his guilt rose but something didn't change. "Shit….." spike said to himself, the first time he's ever cursed and it's directed at no one but himself. Spike quickly removed the covers and almost lept out of his bed to chase after her._

 _He was steps away from leaving the room until he saw twilight heading back up the stairs, holding something with her magic. Spike decided to just wait for her return to the room. The closer and closer twilight came to him, the more he realized exactly what she was holding. Twilight finally reached him, inches away from the dragon at this point. "Spike…." twilight sniffled in the middle of her sentence. She then took a deep breath, not wanting to start waterworks before she left. "I'm giving you the treehouse….." twilight said, the weight of what she just said hit spike. "I…. i don't know what to say…." spike replied, surprised by the sheer amount of trust she has for him. "Take care of yourself, please?" twilight asked, sounding like a doting mother. Spike nodded, still in shock with her reaction to his answer. Spike and twilight embraced, spike could hear her taking a small breath of relief while he was holding onto her. "Good luck spike" these were the last words spoken by twilight before she walked downstairs and spike heard the shutting of the front door._

 **Present day**

"Hmmm…." trixie said, sounding almost disappointed in the little story the drake told. "What?" spike asked, not sure why this was the reaction she was giving him. "Well i expected a bit more honestly…." trixie said, adding a shrug with the finishing of that sentence. "Didn't i say no type of fallout happened between us, i'm pretty sure i did?" spike asked, clarifying his past statement. "You did….. But what's bothering you about it?" trixie asked, not letting spike get out of their conversation easy. "Well, i guess…. Maybe i wanted more, i wanted her to be devastated, make me feel wanted…" before spike could finish, he felt a hoof smack hit the back of his head. "Owww!" spike reacted. Trixie sighed and said "twilight, not like you, that almost makes me wanna laugh". Spike took a second to reflect and realized how idiotic that actually sounded. "She adored you, you were family to her, and that's just from an outsider's perspective" trixie said, one detail managed to catch him off guard. "How would you know?" spike asked, this made trixie slightly uncomfortable. "Well, um…. I…." trixie was stuttering, spike actually started laughing before responding. "Please don't tell me, you were spying on all of us, weren't you?" spike asked. "Actually the truth is way more embarrassing…" trixie thought to herself before letting spike's assumption be the truth. "For a short minute, before i decided to cut town for good, i was plotting revenge" trixie replied. "So that's what pinkie meant…." spike said, trixie immediately turned to a shocked expression. "That pink fluff knows almost everything" trixie said, not intended as a joke. "Ha, pink fluff…." spike chuckled, finding what she said surprisingly funny. "Dear celestia, who knew you were so easy to impress…." trixie said. Spike shrugged, not really jumping out to deny this. Then trixie slipped out her most genuine smile, something that has been resurfacing with her newfound time in ponyville. Spike looked at her, almost like he saw this smile for the first time. Seeing this made him realize something very quickly "jeez, i'm gonna have to explain a who lot to twilight…." spike said passively. Trixie nodded, not really having anything to add with that comment. Spike then yawned, giving the sign that he finally was starting to get tired. "I think i'm gonna take a nap" spike said, the time started really dragging on him. "Alright, i'll hop in an empty seat then….." trixie replied, looking around for said seat. Spike didn't know the result of said search because he slowly drifted to the rest that he wanted.

 **1 hour later**

Both spike and trixie didn't receive a visit from the princess of dreams. This wasn't a surprise for the both of them. Surprisingly, trixie's first waking thought was not the surprise of this fact but the disappointment. "I really wanted to see her again…." trixie thought to herself, eyes still fluttering awake. Lucky she remembered that the whole purpose of this trip was to see her. If she were to be the most honest about things, royalty was never that much of an interest to her. The most intrigued she became with royal politics is the nightmare moon situation. Her returning in the way that she did, almost a full reformation, intrigued her. However, she hasn't really kept tabs on whatever else has happened. "Well, that's a lie, my once mortal enemy is an alicorn….. So maybe some tabs became of interest" trixie thought to herself. Her mind was already full without even fully opening her eyes. "This seat is a little rougher then usual, wait a minute, who's snoring so loudly" trixie was thinking, getting her to start actually waking up. Then, she turned to make an embarrassing discovery. She was resting on the drake's shoulder. "Ahhh!" she mentally screamed. "I thought i went to find an empty seat….., that doesn't matter now!" trixe thought to herself, now just focused on finding her way off him. "Good, he's still snoring…." trixie now whispered, slowly lifting herself off him. Trixie then sighed, blushing like crazy at the idea of her ending up there. "What in the world….." trixie thought, wanting absolutely nothing to do with the feeling she's having right now. She heard spike shift in his seat and then a large yawn from him. "Oh, you're up…." spike commented, stretching his arms. "Who wouldn't with how loud you snore" trixie replied, returning things to a more casual state. "Sorry…. It's a dragon thing, if there is one thing i need ask twi about, it's this brew that she used to give me…." spike said earnestly. "Anyways, what got you in luna's good graces, enough where she wants to meet you?" spike asked. Trixie gave the equivalent of a shrug with her answer "i don't know, we kinda just talked about stuff, deep stuff actually…" trixie replied, vividly remembering their conversation. "What about?" spike asked, trixie was ready to fully tell him their conversation but she remembered another part of their conversation. "I… i can't, i promised not to tell, sorry" trixie said, feeling a sense of loyalty to the princess. "Hmm…." spike was thinking about something but that immediately turned the wrong way. You heard the hardest swallow in the world from spike. "Wait, what are you thinking?" trixie asked, curious as to where his mind is at. "Are you and her, do you like, i don't know….." spike then became extremely nervous. "Oh…." trixie replied, knowing where his mind was at. "Well…. Wait, why am i even entertaining that?!" trixie quickly redirected.

"Maybe you don't know yet, awakenings sometimes happen sooner then…." spike was about to say but he then felt a heavy hoof hit him once again. "Ugh, what are you, a boxer" spike commented, rubbing his arm. "Seriously though, we just talked, nothing more…" trixie replied, still slightly frustrated at his assumption. "Well you better be ready for it, it takes a lot to get the attention of the princesses" spike said. "I don't know, luna doesn't seem like she'd have a nose up at the common ponies" trixie replied, spike then shook his head in disagreement. "That's not what i meant, they are just very busy mares" spike replied, getting a nod in reply from trixie. "Well from my talk with her, luna is more down to earth then any of the earth ponies in ponyville" trixie said, intriguing spike just a little. "Twilight should be the same, i mean a title shouldn't change twilight sparkle, right?" spike was asking himself more then he was asking trixie. "Of course, i mean, she might just be busier then usual" trixie replied. Spike nodded, ready for this trip to just conclude at this point. Whatever happens, both of them were going to have to be inevitable be ready for it.

 **Canterlot, the quarters of princess luna**

Her room was big, larger then than it actually needed to be. Her bed was actually the smallest part of this room. The large stained glass window with her crudely drawn character on it was a couple feet away from this bed. Giving her a bird's eye view of the entire city of canterlot, of course this is where she spends most of her mornings **.** Without this window, her room would be the most empty in the castle. Her closet was the smallest, only a small standing drawer with a couple of dresses and casual outfits for when she goes out. The mare was looking out of the window, viewing the guards and staff on a normal day. She was smiling, she so desperately wanted to be more connected with the ponies she ruled. As she was looking out this window, she heard a knock on her door. She quickly rushed to grab her royal necklace that was laying on her bed, reaching the door to open it. "Sister, i have some news for you, your visitors are arriving soon" celestia was looking at her sister with that same bright smile. "They plan on getting here in an hour or two knowing the trains in equestria" celestia said, getting her sister to chuckle. "Thank you, i shall be ready by then!" luna said with excitement, looking forward to her guests. "Could you also tell twilight about her incoming guest, i'm sure she will have the same amount of excitement as i do?" luna asked, her sister nodding in reply. "Ok, let me get ready sister" luna said as she quickly shut the door. Celestia chuckled at her sister's almost foal like excitement. "I wonder what's so special about her?" celestia thought before returning to her duties in the castle.

 **An: this time i'm early, kinda. Yeah, this is more of a small side story chapter. That's why it's so short but i hope it's a fun one. I thought i would release something before telling all of you that the canterlot chapters are getting a slight delay. A month exactly, i want these chapters to be really quality ones. So thank you for the support and see ya soon :)**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: canterlot part 2: the courts of disapproval

 **castle, main halls, floor 2**

After delivering the news that her sister wanted to hear, Princess Celestia decided to take her time walking before seeing her once apprentice. The scale of these halls were necessary in order to facilitate the multiple rooms needed for services. The main event of this floor is the room where kingdom level discussions happen. This is shown by this room being guarded by the largest door on the floor. The other 5 rooms, spread out by the only wall in this hall, are all for the different staff in the castle. There is only one wall because the other side is just a banister that allows you to look down from the 2nd floor to the first one. There were large windows, non-stained glass, towering above the walls and giving off natural light during the mornings and night. Being larger than life doesn't change Celestia from having the same worries as any normal pony. Recently she's been having issues with our more well-known alicorn, twilight. "Let's hope spike can pull her out of this rut she's in" Celestia thought. She genuinely has worries about the purple alicorn. Recently, she's never seen a day where twilight had a smile on her face. Celestia made a promise to herself years ago to watch over her, seeing the mare at her absolute worst at times. The potential was there, it was always there and she never disappointed by her work ethic. "She can really give herself a hard time….." her thoughts ran wild while walking these halls. The princess remembers one day during one of her usual tasks of writing down a transcript of a meeting she was having. Twilight finished it, it was almost flawless and had only one spelling error. She knew what twilight meant and it was an easy error to fix before sending it out. Matter of fact, she wanted to correct it herself it was such a minor error. That didn't matter, Twilight held her head down and swiped the paper from her the moment Celestia mentioned this. It was childish, immature and if it was anyone else, she would have fired them. This was twilight though and this kind of thing wasn't normal for her. After talking to her for almost an hour, she managed to get Twilight to calm a little bit. Just talking to her for a minute, the mare loved the job and it was killing her. She was almost to twilight's personal quarters, a room right next to the discussions room. Tia took a deep breath, maybe seeing an old friend would help her see things clearer. Celestia really shared a bond with twilight, almost like a daughter to her. She sees a scary amount of her young self in her and wants to guide her away from anymore unnecessary suffering. She looked at the small door, feet away from the biggest door in the hall. Celestia put on her trademark smile and opened the door to greet twilight.

The space that twilight occupied was small, like really small. There was a mattress on the floor, a light bulb with a pull string and a small desk with slightly unorganized papers on it. There was only a medium sized amount of walking space for the average pony. Of all places, Celestia found her once pupil passed out on the desk alongside these papers. Tia sighed, basically displaying the worries she has for her. Celestia approached her and called out "Twilight…". This immediately had twilight jump from her small nap, almost hitting the princess with the back of her head. "I wasn't…. Well I was, but anyways, I was just double checking my transcripts before sending them out to you…" twilight was talking at a mile a minute. She saw an entire pile of papers right next to Twilight's head on the desk, assuming she didn't think any of her transcripts were any good. "Twilight!" Celestia used the royal base in her voice to calm her down. Twilight immediately silenced herself and nodded, showing her gained attention. "I've told you before that these need to be out quickly, small errors don't matter, you have other jobs…." Celestia was slightly frustrated with her. This has been almost the 3rd talk she's had with her about the transcripts. It's for her own good and yet twilight continues to ignore Celestia's suggestions. "I know, I know…." Twilight tried to passively speed up her up. "Obviously you don't!" Celestia barked out. This was the voice she barely used, a threatening tone and twilight got her to this point in seconds. "I'm... I'm sorry" Twilight said, putting her head down on the desk. Tia immediately felt terrible for her outburst, it was definitely not the way she wanted to sound. "I'm sorry but you need to understand where to put your energy in, you throwing 100% of yourself in small tasks isn't healthy" she immediately lowered her tone into a motherly one, Twilight lifted her head from the desk. What she saw broke the princess's heart, it almost looked like she was forcing back tears. Only one singular tear was on her face and twilight wiped it away immediately, pretending that the princess didn't see it. "Ok…. what did I come here for?" Celestia asked herself, almost forgetting before it immediately came back to mind. "Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you that spike is coming to visit" Celestia said in an excited tone. For the first time in the years she's been here, she heard twilight gasp for the first time. "R..really!" twilight immediately became ecstatic. "Yes, he's arriving by train, should be here in about an hour or two from my knowledge" Celestia replied. Twilight was still excited but that excitement almost immediately dialed down. "But what about…." twilight was about to say, letting her responsibilities get her out of a fun time. "As of this moment, by orders of the princess, I'm giving you a week off!" Celestia replied, mocking her own royal voice. This made Twilight chuckled as she replied "thank you princess". Tia shook her head and said, "no need, take your time, relieve some stress and come back fresh". Twilight then shared her first smile in a while with the princess, showing her capability for change. This made Celestia smile genuinely as well, happy for her pupil showing her color once again. Celestia was making her way out the room before twilight called out her name. "Hey celestia…. Could you send a message for me, it's for…." twilight was flustered, trying to ask a somewhat embarrassing request. "Do you want to send a specific request to a special guard member?" Celestia asked, knowing what she was intending. "Um…. well, yeah, he…. He asked me out yesterday and I ignored him for work…. Could you… um" twilight was becoming shyer, this was adorable to Celestia. "Of course, I'll have flash come up in a couple minutes if he isn't working" Celestia said while walking away, being very aware of twilight's small relationship problems. Twilight blushed furiously and followed tia outside, adding the fact of meeting her in the castle garden. Celestia nodded in acknowledgment before walking away to try and fulfill her request.

 **Castle garden**

The gardens, the most serene and calm place of the entire castle. Most would say that this is the most serene of the entire kingdom. The flowers during the warm summers and even cold winters are fully maintained. Protection spells are used to keep it that way during the more harmful weather for flowers. Today was a bright and sunny day so the smaller animals were out in full display. Birds chirped in the distance, bees flew around fully bloomed sunflowers to pollinate. This was a pure display of nature at its best and twilight barley visited it enough to appreciate it. "This place is gorgeous…." Twilight commented, roaming through the naturally made pathway of bushes. This was the first time she was given time off or maybe the first time she accepted it. She promised not to disappoint the princess and has been working to the bone to keep the said promise. "Maybe I do need to pace myself…" Twilight thought, the princess almost always beat this in her head. Unlike most times, twilight might actually give herself time to reflect on this. The bush path leads to a somewhat rest area, the main attraction of the garden. A giant statue of Celestia in the middle, surrounded by flower covered bush. The area was boxed in with these bushes with a bench at the very end of this area. Since this area was intimately small, this bench wasn't really that far. This area was the best way to relax and take in the visual of this garden. The sweet smell of roses hit twilight's nose as she decided to take a seat on this bench to look at this statue. She up at the statue of Celestia and sighed "I'll never live up to you…." Twilight said to herself, thinking she was alone. "Really…." she heard a voice that sounded distinctly like a colt. "Oh no….." Twilight thought, forgetting that she technically invited someone special over. "For the record, you don't need to, you're great on your own…" this colt speaking was flash sentry. These words weren't foreign to her but coming from the right person, they made her feel differently. "I… I don't know about that" Twilight replied, reverting to a more bookish personality. "Well if you don't, take my word for it" flash replied with a smile. Flash was the first familiar face that twilight met during her first year at the castle. They were already going slowly because of her constant string of adventures. She felt that time wasn't on her side to maintain a serious relationship. Her newfound status at the castle made things even worse for that reason. "Hey flash….." twilight said passively, regretting asking Celestia for that request. "So… what's going on, mind if I sit with you?" flash asked, suddenly feeling a little clammy himself. Twilight shook her head and he took that shake as a no, taking a seat right next to her. "Please tell me I didn't take you away from important work?" Twilight asked, flash sighed and replied "well…. No, it's been dull, I'm replaceable at the moment….". Based on his reply it seemed as if Twilight wasn't the only one dealing with something.

"I've taken my first break…" Twilight started, this immediately got flash excited. "So does that mean we can actually have a second date?" flash interjected with a question. Twilight thought about it and immediately started blushing. "Well, that's up to you…." twilight replied timidly. This timidness immediately charmed flash with him replying " if it were up to me, we would have gone out months ago". This made both of them chuckle as they continued their conversation. "All we need is time…." Twilight said, almost forgetting about an important visitor today. "Well….. How long are you off?" flash asked her. "Just a week but that's enough time…. Right?" Twilight asked,flash was puzzled this answered. "What do you mean enough time?" flash asked, twilight then decided to clarify her answer. "We spend our time together and then i revert, head back to work…." twilight was saying, it seemed as if she has yet to learn her important lesson. "Twi, do you have any kind of work-life balance?" flash asked with a hint of worry in his voice. "Well….. I don't know, days kinda just happen for me lately, almost like they have no weight anymore" Twilight said, reverting to a state of melancholy. Flash was surprised by this revelation, she never carried herself in a way that would imply she felt this way. "Hmm…." twilight was now in thought, stuck on some event that's supposed to happen today that she can't remember. "Look, princesshood, I get it, it's a busy job….." flash was starting to say but it didn't seem as if she was paying attention at all. Flash sighed and decided to wait for her to break out of thought, which lasted only 5 seconds longer. "Oh yeah! spike is visiting today!" Twilight exclaimed, her excitement returned once again. "Really, just spike, i thought…." flash realizing he might be revealing information he shouldn't. "Thought what?" Twilight asked, hearing flash's slip up. "Well….. Um, how do i put this….." flash was thinking, not wanting spike to get too much heat when he comes. "From what i've heard, he's not the main guest, from time to time, i kinda eavesdrop on conversations…." flash was trying to prolong saying the inevitable. "Come on, spit it out" Twilight said, getting quickly impatient with him. "From the sound of the name, spike brought a mare with him!" flash spat these words out in a rapid pace. Twilight was quiet, dead quiet, unsettlingly quiet. "Uh….. twilight?" flash called out, trying to regain her attention. "Spike has a marefriend…" twilight immediately jumped to the top of the assumption board. She said this softly, almost like she was hurt by this reveal. "And he didn't tell me or write me about her, why?" twilight was really only asking herself this question. "Now wait, don't jump to conclusions, this mare is supposedly the actual main guest…." flash quickly tried to correct her. "Hmm" Twilight replied with a simple noise to signify her attention. "Her name is Trixie and Luna wants to see her…" flash continued, this immediately surprised the lavender mare. "What?!" Twilight exclaimed, having multiple questions on her mind about this. "To answer one question, i have no idea what Luna wants from her, my knowledge of this ends here" flash tried to reassure twilight of some things.

"Trixie is an old foe we fought, what is she doing out of the shadows?" twilight was really only asking herself. She started to worry about her old assistant now knowing this information. "Honestly, do you want a personal opinion?" flash asked, interrupting twilight's train of thought. Twilight shrugged, not really wanting it but not minding the presence of said opinion either. "It's been years, depending on the tier, she's probably not a threat" flash finished, Twilight nodded but then caught something he said. "Tier, what do you mean?" Twilight asked, flash chuckled at her naivety. "Well think about, the mane six have fought smaller things like bears, to the equivalent of gods, so a tier list is necessary" flash explained, Twilight nodded and immediately understood what he said. "She's…. A little egotistical but that ego threatened and enslaved our town…." twilight was taking flash's advice seriously and trying to place Trixie within a tier. Flash regretted even mentioning this, cause it took twilight an additional couple minutes to think of where to place Trixie on this list.

"I got it!" Twilight exclaimed, slightly jump scaring flash after the minutes of silence that he was in. "she's about a 3 without power and a 6 with power" Twilight said, flash was slightly surprised by this rating. "Really now?" flash replied, Twilight nodded and went on to explain her reasoning. "Well from what I recall, her mentality is that she's the best thing since sliced bread but I'll admit she can be quite bright" Twilight said, flash nodded in reply. Flash then yawned and realized something important. "I'm sorry, I think we both need to get back soon" flash said, Twilight nodded but wasn't sure for what. "If time serves us correct, you have 30 minutes to prepare for you long time dragon friend coming to castle" flash said, Twilight gasped fully remembering that fact. Twilight jolted out of her seat and was about rush out before telling flash "I promise well plan said date, I mean it!" Twilight exclaimed, flash chuckled and nodded. As twilight took off, comedically running into a bush before making her way out of the gardens. Flash sat for a second and looked at Celestia's statue. Flash sighed and said, "if you only knew the effect you had on ponies, princess". He then got up and made his way out of the garden as well.

 **Canterlot station, minutes away from the main city**

Spike was fully awake throughout the rest of the trip. An hour of attention was placed looking out of the window. Trixie, however, didn't do the same, she fell asleep quite quickly after their last conversation. Spike heard the heavy whistling of the brakes, signifying that they have made it to their stop. He sighed, his nerves heading towards the peak of where they could possibly be. Spike looked beside him and saw that Trixie was still sleeping. Obviously, Spike knew that waking her up was the next thing he had to do. Yet, those fears that nervousness eroded away if not for only just a couple seconds looking at her in complete peace. She barely even made the slightest noise when sleeping. Her hair was a half complete frizzled mess with some strands grazing her face. "She actually looks kinda cute" he thought to himself, letting out a small snicker. Spike at first didn't realize how weird that train of thought was until he heard a yawn come from her. "Oh!" spike had a reactionary thought before quickly averting his gaze from her. "Ugh, damn…." those were her first waking words while stretching to reorient herself. "Are we here?" Trixie asked, spike was turned away from her and nodded rapidly. "Huh? what's wrong" Trixie asked genuinely, spike still trying get over his embarrassment. "Uh…. no, not at all!" spike quickly replied, the recovery process was almost complete for him. "You know you're not the best at lying, right?" Trixie replied reading his ruse. Spike sighed, admitting that's the truth but he still had one card behind his back. "It's just….. Were here and my nerves are kicking in" Spike replied in a much more reserved and low voice. Trixie nodded, meaning to spike that she might have bought. "Come on spike, you gotta power through this…" Trixie replied, sounding genuinely concerned about the drake. Spike can sometimes still be taken aback by these bouts of pure kindness she's capable. "O...ok, I got this!" spike replied, putting a shaky fist up in the air. Trixie saw this and sighed, "it's improvement…." she said following that sigh she gave. Spike got up from his seat and realized something interesting. "Never thought you would be the one consoling me" Spike commented. Trixie was silent on this comment, truly taking time to think about it. "Alright, let's get going, we have royalty waiting for us!" Trixie said with full excitement and pride. Spike sighed, not making an attempt to cover up his fears and nonexcitement for this outing.

 **Canterlot, main city: 30 minutes away from the castle**

To spike, the city wasn't anything that special anymore. He used to be amazed by how different the lives of ponies look here compared to ponyville. The fancier clothes, the densely populated streets made from actual concrete. All the shops, mostly clothes or finer dining, all very expensive as well. Canterlot was one of the more city looking places in Equestria, circling around the main attraction. The castle, the pinnacle of pony achievement, a building that can almost touch the sky. However, while spike wasn't mystified by the city, Trixie was almost instantly enamored. "Wow…." Trixie said while both of them were walking on the side of the streets to find a taxi. "You've never been here before?" spike asked, Trixie nodded in reply. "It's just, I've never been somewhere this fancy before" Trixie said, looking around at every individual shop. "You wanna check some stores out before we head to the castle?" spike asked, genuinely asking but also trying to delay the inevitable. "I don't wanna be bankrupt while I'm this young" Trixie quipped in reply, getting a chuckle out of spike. "Fine, just look out for a yellow carriage then" spike said, Trixie nodded in reply and scanned the many carriages riding in the streets. The city was almost completely dependent on carriage travel. It makes sense to spike, while the design of the city is simple. A large city that forms a circle around the castle, keep in mind the large part of that descriptions. There are many houses, alleyways, stores and hotels that give the city density. "What would I even say to her?" spike asked himself, forgetting about the mare right next to her. Trixie sighed, continuing to do the job that she was assigned. "How far is the castle from here?" Trixie asked, making sure there was a need for said carriage. Spike was silent, he didn't want to admit laziness on his part. "Spike…., seriously, how long?" Trixie asked, not letting him slip past her easily. "30 minutes" he admitted along with a sigh of defeat. Trixie had a much lighter reaction then spike thought she would. She chuckled and replied "you act so immature sometimes". Spike couldn't really deny this fact and shared a laugh with her. "Maybe we should check some stores out….. Since we're walking now" Trixie said, emphasizing the walking part of the said sentence with a smile. Trixie took a head start with spike taking a quick sigh and trailing behind her. "Do you even know where you're going?!" Spike called out to Trixie. She turned to look at the drake and replied "that's why we have you, right?". That wicked smile was still on her face and spike was quickly getting used to it. He then thought for a second on how far both of them progressed since they met each other. "Or regressed" spike cynically commented while frozen in thought. "Spike, come on!" Trixie called out, waiting on him to lead her. He then smiled and rushed to her, starting their short journey to the castle high in the sky.

 **an: hey guys, sorry for the short chapter length agian. i wanted to be able to get something out and not keep you waiting. chapter 12 is gonna be big, like really big. might come sooner then you think :) thanks for reading**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: canterlot part 3: to what goes missing in the process of change?

 **Castle, luna's room: 30 minutes until the arrival of trixie**

30 minutes was the time of arrival at this point, luna needed to move at a breakneck pace. However, she choose to lay in her bed, eyes attached to the ceiling. She sighed, feeling the drain of a long day. She spent the day preparing various accommodations. dealing with kingdom wide political discussion and preparing a great feast for the two guests this evening. It was a lot but that was just a normal day for a princess like her. What wasn't normal was her growing depression. Days feel like years to her and she's gained a new enemy within herself. " _Who do you think you are?"_ a voice started fighting within her mind, wanting to be heard. Luna sighed, knowing exactly who that voice is. " _You were powerful, you were respected, you were….."_ before the voice could finish speaking within her, luna stood up in defiance. "I was feared, a monster and i have no interest in giving into you" luna said, almost seeming detached from what she was saying. " _Giving in?, that implies i have no control, yes_?" the voice said, luna had no response. This voice only appeared recently, a entity that preyed on the insecurity of princess. That's how she viewed the voice, she even took the time to see a doctor about this voice. " _That's right, my existence is control in itself"_ the voice made the point that luna didn't want to hear. luna sat on this fact before hearing a knock on the door. "Luna?!" the voice calling out from behind the door was obviously familiar to her. She almost didn't move from her comfortable spot in the bed, wanting to stay for a bit longer. "Can we please talk?" that voice belonged to her sister and luna has never ignored her call. "You may come in!" luna called out, not even leaving her bed. The door creaked open and celestia saw luna laid out on the bed. "Not even my own sister can break this melancholy chain spreading" she commented. Celestia decided to take her sister's approach and decided to take a seat on the bed. "Hey, did i invite you here?" luna asked in a joking manner. celestia laughed it off and stayed in her position. "Long day, huh?" celestia asked, taking a completely casual tone with her sister.

Luna nodded in reply, not really having any fun comments to the affair. "Don't worry sister, not all days are like yours" celestia said. Luna was surprised that her sister was giving her such obvious advice. "Of course…." luna replied with the heaviest amount of sarcasm her voice would allow. Celestia sighed "sorry, that's all i got….. Unless something else is bothering you?" she asked the question luna would never answer. Luna is aware of the fact that she might know about her current issue. Celestia always wanted her sister to say how she felt, rather then say it for it. "Umm….. doubt, again…." luna slightly admitted, deciding to leave the voice out entirely. Tia clicked her tongue in a lighter tone of a disapproval, setting the mood for what she was about to say. "I don't know how many times i need to say your amazing till you feel it dear sister….." celestia replied. Luna chuckled "i don't know, maybe till the edge of time" she humorously replied. "I don't believe that…." celestia replied, changing her light tone to a stark and serious one. "Your stronger then you think" celestia said, luna could only nod. She heard the same thing from her sister many times. "I wish i saw what you see in me…" luna passively said. Celestia sighed, she almost bends over backwards to help her sister and nothing seems to work. "Enough with the melancholy, how about you guests?" celestia said, changing the subject immediately. "If hours of preparation determines an outcome, things should run smoothly" luna said while adding a heavy sigh to show how drained she was. "You never told me, why did you invite her here?" celestia asked. Luna was dead silent,wanting to keep those reasons to herself. "I feel she needs my inquiry…." this was the best excuse that luna could come up with. "Or do you need hers?" celestia said, sounding as if she hit the nail on the head. Luna was silent once more. "Whatever your reason, it should be an interesting time" celestia said, luna nodded in agreement with her. "Actually there is one thing i was wondering…." celestia started saying, this gained luna's continued attention. "It's been years and it should be expected yet if she is his choice…" luna knew immediately knew what she was getting at. "Wouldn't surprise me at all, sometimes a mate needs to challenge you" luna replied, following with a chuckle. "Hmm, you may be right" celestia replied, following up with her own short laugh. Luna was enjoying their conversation, stripping their business side away if not only for a small pocket of time. "Well i have to get going, lots of work to do" celestia said, getting up from her position on the bed. "That means you to, don't dodge work today" she also added, luna nodded and swatted her away with her hoof. This made celestia smile, her sister seemed to be showing her colors again. As celestia walked out of luna's room, luna smiled herself. " _It won't last, none of it does"_ the voice struck again, taking a swipe at her slight happiness. "Then let us live in the moment then" luna replied, continuing her fight with the voice. She then walked out the room as well, ready to take on the rest of her duties.

 **Canterlot: main shopping square: 30 minutes until arrival at the castle**

He had to do this kind of thing everyday, without doing it he'd starve. However, if there is one thing spike hated more then anything, that would be shopping. Even after making a joke about not shopping in canterlot, trixie ended up in a pawn shop anyways. "Jeez, even the pawn shop looks high end…" trixie commented while she and spike were looking around. The store was the largest that they've ever seen. The store was a massive room with hallway length shelves for various items. In the end of these shelf hallways with a large area for bigger items and rarer items in glass cases. This large area was packed with a flood of ponies, giving it a more intimidating presence. "1,000 bits for a small necklace like this!" trixie exclaimed in disbelief. Spike shrugged, completely expecting this kind of gouging the moment he walked in with her. Trixie was looking in the jewelry section of the store, a place spike honestly thought she wouldn't end up in. "it does look pretty though…." spike commented. It was a necklace with a silver looking chain and an almost pure looking crystal attached to it. "I don't know, to me, this crystal looks like a fake" trixie commented, vigorously examining the diamond. Spike was surprised with her offhand knowledge but then he quickly remembered something. "She probably would have loved coming here, seeing her friend….." spike sighed along with that comment. "Maybe a gift would seal that wound for her" trixie replied, spike nodded in reply. "I'mma look for the the commoners section, see if i can find anything…" spike said as he walked away to another section. Trixie was about to do her own searching until something about that necklace stood out to her. "That would be a… no trixie, don't be stupid" a rogue thought popped up in her head. She tried to walk away, push that idea out of her head and make a sensible decision. "... damn it spike!" she thought to herself, swiping the necklace from the shelf with her magic.

 **Somewhere else in the pawn shop**

"Wow….." spike admitted his frightful guard down to admit to the amazing scale of the store. The usual knick knack section of a store would be a shelf long in ponyville. Here, there was an entire aisle dedicated to smaller novelty items. Like most things they saw in the store, the prices were beyond uphiked. "Ugh, even a simple teddy bear costs a fortune" spike thought to himself. At the same time, he felt that was the least he owed fluttershy for not taking her. He was debating as to whether or not to tell her he even came to canterlot. "No…. lying is too easy…." he thought to himself. This is a new thing for spike, lying being his first but not used resort. That thought has come up more often and it's concerning him. "When did lying become my first instinct?" spike asked himself this question constantly. However, first instinct doesn't necessarily mean the thing you end up doing. Spike, for the most part, never ends up using his first instinct when approaching any problem. Hiding trixie's existence from her was one of those first instinct moves he had. Sometimes delaying a predicted fallout seems better then just facing everything head on. "Come on, there's gotta be something in this raggedy aisle" spike thought to himself, seeing nothing but upsold "i was in canterlot" branded items. Finally as he was approaching the end of aisle, he found something. Sitting at the end, was a small, felt pegasus doll with a yellow color. "Actually, the likeness is pretty uncanny….. Is this merchandise for the mane six?" spike asked while looking at this doll. He then looked up and saw the mass of stuffed dolls that looked like his friends. The very last shelf in the aisle was mane six merch, dolls mostly and it was actually quite creepy at first. Then a foal and her mother passed by to look at the same dolls. "Ok, so which one do you want?" the mother asked the foal in a doting matter. Spike still had the fluttershy looking doll in his hand while looking at the shelf. The foal looked around, completely enamoured by each of the six in doll form. "Hmm…." she was still in thought until a doll in the very back stood out to her. "An alicorn…." she said in amazement, picking out the twilight doll. "I'm sorry, are we in your way?" the mother asked spike. "No, not at all, i'm still looking…" spike was surprised with the mother's lack of surprise with him being a dragon. "Look, it even has a little dragon on her back, cool!" the foal exclaimed in excitement. Spike's attention was raised and he saw the doll himself on the shelf. Spike had no reaction to this until he saw that same little foal look straight at him. "A...a dragon?" the foal oddly didn't ask this question in fear but interest instead. Spike didn't know how to react to this nor knew why it took her this long to notice him. Spike threw up a awkward little wave, hoping that would be enough of a response. The foal chuckled, eroding her even smallest idea of him being a threat. "Are you the only dragon here?" this was her first question directed at spike. "You don't need to….." the mother was about to say, spike genuinely didn't mind though. "It's ok, really, and the answer is yes" spike replied. "Hmm…" the foal was intrigued by his answer and looked at the doll she picked up once more. "Are you the….." the foal was about to ask, spike answered her predicted question with a nod.

"Woah….." the young foal looked starstruck once this was confirmed. Spike chuckled, admittedly enjoying the small limelight. Her face looked as she was ready to rapid fire him with over 50 questions. "Ok, ok, we shouldn't bother the poor drake…." her mother said, her child looked up at her in slight disappointment. However, she nodded in acceptance at her mother's words. The foal waved goodbye to the dragon before the both of them left. Spike gave a more confident wave with a toothy smile. The foal chuckled and left the aisle along with her mother. "Huh…." spike commented, quite surprised by how that interaction went. He never really had that kind of reaction to him being a dragon. He was better off for it and it almost improved his mood for heading to the castle. He looked at all the dolls again and picked both the fluttershy and twilight dolls. He walked towards the cashier with a slightly smaller chip on his shoulder.

 **10 minutes later, outside of the pawn shop**

Trixe sighed, looking in the bag with an extremely expensive necklace inside. She didn't sigh for the amazing amount of bits lost in one purchese. It was a gift idea and she understands it was her full choice. Her impatience is coming from her growing excitement to meet luna. This is coming from the same mare who before this visit was very indifferent to high life. Matter of fact, while she was in the store, the thought crossed her mind about her new experiences. "From wanderer, to living to a tree, going to a cool party and finally canterlot…" she thought in retrospect. It's not just the places but the connections, even if they were newly made, that she formed. Helping and meeting two seemingly different mares but looking closer, seem to be great friends. "They both threw a killer party" she thought, waiting for the drake she had nothing else to do but reflect. Of course she not forgetting about fluttershy, who was slightly accepting of her from the beginning. Yet, up until recently she's been feeling awkward around her. "Then there's spike…" once she thought about this, her thoughts ran incredibly wild. The time when they outsmarted a diamond dog, "if it weren't for spike, i'd be dead…" she first said this with a chuckle. Then, she actually took a look at all he's been involved in. "and he stuck by me, even at my most vial…" her thoughts became more of the warmer variety. "Gave me a place to live, introduced me to two new mares…" it was getting warmer, almost a space of comfort. One thing, it was a little thing but one thing stuck in her mind. "When rarity attacked me, not only was this the second prevented death, he saw my bloody nose and gave me a tissue, made sure i was ok…" trixie then sighed, she knew and was 100% aware with why her thoughts were heading this direction. "I'm…. oh no, oh hell no!" her mind couldn't even complete the sentence at first. This possibility was always in her head, no matter how much she tried to push it out. "I'm…." trixie was super close to saying this truth out loud before hearing the unmistakable voice of the drake in question. "Hey, i managed to find something… interesting, should be good enough". Trixie turned her attention to him, revealing him holding a tiny bag. He reached into the bag and pulled out one stuffed doll that looked a lot like fluttershy. "Hmm…. didn't know they had merch" trixie commented, spike shrugged and placed the doll back in the bag. "Oh i see you got something…" spike said, seeing her own little bag next to her. "Oh…. well, um…. I kinda got you something…" trixie said with her nerves peaking. She levitated the item out of the bag and passed it to him. It was a small jewelry box that first housed the item. He opened it to reveal the same necklace both of them saw in the store. "Um…. wow….." spike was jaw dropped by the small necklace. "You wanted a gift for her, i think that should suit quite….." while trixie was speaking, she heard spike give a sigh. "This must have costed a fortune…." spike said, not sure whether to take the item.

"Hey, it was my gift, don't worry about it" trixie replied, urging him to take it. "Hmm…. ok then, i'll take it, thank you" spike replied with a soft smile. "Oh yeah!, i did get you something…" spike remembered while shifting through the tiny bag. "They didn't have trixie merchandise for obvious reasons but i found this cool magic hat!" spike said in excitement, pulling out what might be the corniest thing trixie's ever seen. It was a small standard magic hat you'd find in a magic tricks set. Black hat with a white ring circling the bottom of it but the major difference is all the white stars surrounding the the top of the hat. "Well… it's…. Special, very special…." trixie was making an effort to hold her laughter. "I mean, come on, it was this or a sunhat with the same design…" spike replied, trixie couldn't hold it in anymore. "Somepony put this design on a damn sunhat!" she exclaimed, finally bursting into laughter. At first it was a snicker but then spike joined along as well. "I...i can't…" trixie was slowly regaining her normal composure before they both reached back into a normal ground. After they recovered from their laughter, trixie looked into spike's eyes. "But really, i love it, thank you" trixie said in her most genuine manner. Spike nodded in reply with a smile. "Same here, i just wish you didn't…." before spike could finish the sentence, she took her hat and placed it on top her head. "Come on spike, this look…. Priceless" she said, putting the silly hat on top her head head. This lightened spike's mood a bit until he remembered the most important thing. "Next stop, canterlot…." he said very plainly, not lacking excitement but not holding any either. Trixie nodded and spike looked back at her to mention something important. "If were walking, i don't think you wanna be caught in public with that hat on your head" spike commented. Trixie chuckled and said "nah, it stays". This put a smile on spike's face as they traveled their final stretch together.

 **Castle, main meeting room, 20 minutes until the arrival of trixie**

Celestia was trying to hold back a sigh and a very large one at that. Like most discussions, these were strictly diplomatic ones. Lending different resources to the many kingdoms of equestria, nothing ever amounted to anything bigger then that. This was a new age, the many successful ventures of the mane six lead to an ultimate peace agreement before they retired. The retirement was down to them wanting to lead more normal lives. Twilight was one of those cases, a case that celestia had a current frustration with. She gave her a week off and yet finds her jotting down a transcript of the conversation. Celestia quite vividly remembered something she thought was well told to flash. "Take her out on the town i said, keep her out of work i said" celestia thought to herself while absorbing the information from the meeting. Twilight looked fatigued which isn't different from how she's been looking everyday. However, celestia found something quite interesting in her behavior. No matter how tired it made her, she never dropped her complete investment in the discussion. This reminded celestia of her first day, the excitement and the pure passion in her eyes. No matter how much damage she may have done to herself, this looked never disappeared from her eyes. As she was thinking, celestia heard a small whisper calling to her. "Princess…" celestia turned around to see that twilight was calling for her. "Now i heard the part about apple trade but i missed how many ponies their sending to do the trade….." twilight was whispering. "53 ponies, that's your answer" celestia responded with her own hushed voice. Twilight nodded and continued to her writing. "Alright, i think we can close early today, besides, you have guests coming soon" the main ambassador of the meeting, a representative of the griffin race. A lot of progress has been made repairing the fractures of a once messy relationship. "Thank you for your time" both of the princesses said in perfect sync, formalities that they are both used to using. As everyone left the room and the only ones left were the princesses, a handful of guards and twilight. "Guards, you may be dismissed, we would like to have a private conversation!" luna said with a powerful base in her voice. Her guards immediately listened and cleared the room.

"Ok, so let's go over my notes then…." twilight was shifting through her notes until a magical aura held the papers down. "Listen to me, for once, i never thought this would be an issue, but please listen to me…." celestia almost sounded like she was begging her former student. Twilight nodded and let celestia continue to talk. "Throughout these years, ever since you were but a mere foal, i've watched you grow and mature, learn so many things and even push beyond my expectations of you…" celestia seemed to be pouring her heart out while speaking to her, almost like words from a caring mother. "I could never be any prouder then i am today… and that's why i need to say this, i know you love your work and i see it in your eyes everyday….." before celestia could even finish, luna finished the statement for her. "You must not let your work consume you". "I know but….." twilight was stuck, not wanting to admit this truth to the mares that believe in her so much. "It's ok to take a break, the world isn't going to end when your not around for a week…." celestia said, this statement triggered something in twilight's mind. "It isn't?..." twilight thought to herself. "If there is anything and i mean anything that bothers you, this week would be a good time to talk" celestia said, finishing her speech. Twilight nodded, really only as a courtesy. "Ok, now, maybe head out to town or help luna prepare the welcome dinner, get your mind off of work" celestia said, the moment that she mentioned working with luna, she was almost swept off her feet by the midnight princess. "Come on, we have a lot to do, don't worry sister, she's in good hooves!" luna said excitedly, guiding twilight out the door. Celestia chuckled as she continued to stay in the meeting room. She sighed, hoping that spike's visit would at least slightly correct her vision.

 **15 minutes until the arrival of trixie, main hallways, heading for the dining room**

Twilight was dead silent while walking next to luna. Luna was whistling some kind of tune, she doesn't even recall if luna even said anything. "What is it, do i miss the fame, did i even like the fame?" twilight was thinking herself into a circle. She never really was a fame loving mare, so that was the first option that she ruled out. "Is must be the conflict…" twilight accidently said this bit out loud. "Conflict, what do you mean?" luna asked her, twilight had two options with her response. Ignore her or just directly respond to her, she chose the latter for once. "It seems that something about the old days with my friends, i miss something about it…." twilight said in the most unsure. "I mean, you have great friends, ones worth missing, you shouldn't be puzzled about that" luna replied, twilight nodded. "But…. it's not my friends that i miss, it's something else and i don't know what it is" twilight replied. Once luna heard that, she stopped in her tracks, twilight was puzzled by this. "Twilight, i…. The best advice or a place you should start is asking one question…." luna was in her own speech mode and twilight's attention was fully peeked. "During the process of change, what of yourself goes missing and can you recover those pieces?" luna said, being the most honest with her current feelings. "Say, a part of yourself, a part that you don't like…. Sometimes that hardest thing to understand is… nevermind!" she quickly aborted her train of thought. Twilight was stuck on what luna was about to say. "By part, does she mean nightmare moon?" twilight thought to herself. "Anyways!, do you see what i mean?" luna asked, twilight nodded but was ready to reply with her own question. "Do you miss nightmare moon?" twilight asked. This question took luna by surprise. The answer should have been immediate but the words were just not coming out. " _You know you do, don't lie to the mare…"_ the voice in luna's head returned for the first time in front of another pony. "I… i don't know" luna replied, trying her hardest not to react to the voice. " _Your a coward! This is why the power will never grace you! Without its power, you a weak coward!"_ the voice was violent, almost agitated by luna. "I AM NOT A COWARD!" luna screamed this, she couldn't hold back anymore.

Twilight was slightly frightened by luna's outburst but not enough to run from her. "Luna!" twilight called out to her. Luna realized her small outburst and took a deep breath and hoped this would keep the voice away. "I…i apologize" luna said, saddened and with regret. She couldn't even explain to her why she had that reaction. "Are you ok?" twilight asked, luna nodded in reply to her question. "Actually, no, i'm not taking your word for that, what's going on?" twilight asked, not letting the princess go so easily. Luna was quiet, she was thinking about whether trusting twilight with this secret was a good idea. "It's my problem and i can handle it" this was luna's answer to her question. Twilight didn't want to but she decided to let it go after that point. As they continued, luna's true intentions finally revealed themselves. She found a mare whose heart hurt the same way hers did. Both of them continued to walk, dragging their baggage along with them.

 **5 minutes until arrival inside the castle, main castle gate**

This is the first time in years that spike had to remind himself to breathe. The pressure that he thought was completely lifted was returning. The gate was a large one, with two guards standing on each end of it. The castle behind that gate seemed larger then he remembered. "Maybe they added to it" trixie commented, it seems like trixie was thinking the same thing. The walk up was grueling. The path was clearly made for carriage travel but trixie insisted on walking due his small lie about the distance. "Hey, are you ok?" trixie asked him, spike turned to her and nodded as they both walked up to the guards. "Identi…. Spike!" one of guards immediately recognized spike. Spike took a closer look and that orange color became unmistakable to the dragon. "Woah, no way! Flash!" spike gained a genuine burst of excitement. Spike quickly embraced flash before they started talking. "So i see you've found yourself one heck of a mare!" flash said, leading trixie to immediately get embarrassed. "Um… well…" trixie was trying to get the correct words out before spike helped her out. "It's not like that, she's a new friend" spike quickly clarified, trixie quickly nodded in agreement. "Ok, alright, that's cool but the real question, do you have a marefriend?" flash asked him, spike gave off a smirk before replying. "If i told you now, you wouldn't believe it". Flash chuckled and replied "should be a great story to tell me when i let you two in". Flash took one side of the gate and the other guard took another side. Pushing it open so that both spike and trixie can get inside. Flash lead the way for both of them to the main castle door. "Twilight is super….." before he could even finish his sentence, the door swung open to reveal a familiar lavender mare. "H…." spike couldn't even finish a two letter word before twilight rushed to the drake for a hug. "I'm…. i'm so glad to see you!" twilight said almost breaking into tears. As he felt her in his arms, spike has never shed a tear for years. Maybe it was the journey, maybe it was the long amount of time or the guilt he had. Spike lost the ability to control his emotions. "Me too…." was the last thing he said before shedding his own tears. Trixie was moved by the affair as well but in a smaller way. Twilight didn't even notice trixie she was so enveloped in the moment. As they both let go, tear stained faces as the aftermath. Spike sniffled, having a hard time recovering. "This… you know who this is, my new friend, trixie" spike gave his best introduction for her. "Hi" trixie couldn't think of anything else to say, not knowing how to start. "Hi" twilight replied in return, both of them didn't have much to say to each other. "Anyways!, let's go inside, food awaits!" flash said, his attempt at breaking the awkward tone between the two. Then they all walked together into the castle, starting their stay at the castle.

 **An: woah! This is a bit of a quicker note for this chapter. Thank you all for deciding to jump on this crazy ride with me. The more i write this story, the more it starts hitting towards my core. I'm working hard on getting these chapters out faster. Thank you so much for reading and see you next time :)**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: canterlot part 4: baggage drop off

 **Castle: main floor dining hall**

A royal dinner was something that spike wasn't treated to for a long time. They were events that he used to worry about due to his gem only diet. However, he should have known better back then. Not only did he get gems, he got the best damn gems he'd ever tasted. These facts, even after 3 years, haven't changed. "You have to send me back with a couple of these!" spike said excitedly while chomping the gems on his plate down. "What happened to being a responsible eater?!" twilight asked the drake. Spike looked directly at her and pointed at his plate with comedic emphasis. It's almost as if their time wasn't lost at all. Spike's worries were still on his mind but not as visible. Conversation was happening, laughs were being had and nothing was amiss. However, on the other side of things was trixie. She was silent and barely spoke a word to anyone at the large table. She didn't want to put off the impression of ungratefulness. She knew how to fake a smile and nod while not knowing exactly what everyone was talking about. 'I still can't believe it…. Fluttershy and you…" flash directed the conversation back at spike's love life. "Well… i mean, things happen sometimes" he replied with a shrug. "Things happen, you hook up with one of my friends and that's things happening!" twilight replied with a shocked reaction. "I mean yeah, it's a thing, right?" spike asked her jokingly. Trixie was actually getting quite nervous to contribute. After egging on spike for the entire trip about speaking out, she's the most silent. "Well you better treat her right, if you don't, i'll know" twilight replied, giving spike the judgemental eye. "Me, mistreat fluttershy, pfft!" spike replied swatting his claw at her, making both twilight and trixie smile. Spike took a quick glance at trixie realizing her complete silence. "Is something up with her?" spike thought to himself. "So what about your travel buddy, how'd this happen?" twilight asked pointing at both trixie and spike. "Oh!, um…." spike was not the quickest to reply when it came to this. "I owe him a lot…" these were the first words that trixie spoke during the entire dinner.

No matter how many times she says this, it still surprises him. To the point where he thought the mare sitting in front of him was always inside of her. "Would you care to elaborate?" luna asked her, sitting right beside her sister on the table. "Ok…, well he saved me from a pack of diamond dogs and gave me a place to stay when i didn't have one…" trixie said shyly. Luna chuckled, assessing her and easily picking up on something the room didn't understand. "I see…" luna replied, twilight directed her gaze at spike. "Looks like you kept the same heart, even when i'm gone.." twilight said, sounding like she was about to shed a tear. "Maybe i should have reassigned elements then" celestia said, getting a laugh from the entire room. This isn't the first time she's thanked spike for all he's done. This time feels different to her in almost every way. The words carried more weight to them and that made her extremely flushed. "So, what have you been up to since that last time i saw you trixie?" twilight asked, actively wanting to engage trixie in conversation. "Well, i have been running a shop with an old friend in ponyville" trixie replied, slowly breaking out of her shell. She decided to leave out any details before this happened. "That's nice, i assume it's a magic shop?" twilight asked curiously. Trixie almost wanted to laugh at the idea of her being attached to stage magic at that degree. "No, it's more a smaller version of a trading post" she replied. "Hmm… interesting, long ago, i've heard stores like that slowly gaining traction over the traditional trading event" twilight replied, trixie nodded in agreement. "Why don't you tell my boss that one, we barely get service sometimes.." trixie replied with a small chuckle. "Has your boss tried special advertising, promotions, anything of that nature" twilight replied, serious about giving her business advice. "It's hard to do some special promotions based on the some of the items we receive" trixie replied. Twilight nodded and replied "so she's a collector". Trixie nodded and the rest of the table found humor in all of this. "You better listen up, your getting a whole seminar worth of advice for free" luna commented, getting a chuckle from trixie. Luna looked up at the window and saw the sky's darkened color. "Well, i must be going, duty calls" luna said, getting up from her seat next to trixie.

As she was walking, luna stopped in place and quickly pranced back to trixie. "Me and you will talk tomorrow" she whispered to trixie, getting a nod in reply from her. Luna walked up to her room, preparing to take flight for her nightly rounds. This left our main 5 sticking to the giant table. Their food at this point was halfway done and most of their time was spent just catching up with each other. "Speaking of shops, have you received any business for the library?" twilight asked. "Oh um….." spike was not prepared for this question. He didn't even think that twilight wanted to keep the library as a business. "I kinda… destroyed the checkout desk, the library's been closed for awhile now" spike replied, twilight was dead silent after hearing this. "I needed more living space…" the more spike tried to back himself out of the corner, the worse it sounded. "Hm…, well, where's my 2,000 bits?" twilight asked out of the blue with an air of tenseness. "Huh?!" spike was shocked by the absurdly high number she's asking for. "Due to first buy, the polishing and repairs done to the desk as well, that's how much you owe me" twilight said this with the most stark tone. "Come on, you probably make twice that much!" spike exclaimed in reply. "next time, you should have asked me via letter about destroying my property" twilight replied. All was silent, it looked as if spike was sweating bullets. Trixie was making a movement in her chair, almost as if she was about to say something. Then, twilight started chuckling and then breaking into a laugh. "I don't care what you do with the place, i gave it to you anyways!" she exclaimed still in unbroken laughter. Spike had a sigh of relief and let out a chuckle himself. Trixie was silent, surprised at what she was thinking about doing. "I was ready to pay out of pocket about 2,000 bits, what's wrong with me?!" trixie thought to herself. "Alright everyone, it's getting late, let's get some sleep, tomorrow should be a long day" celestia said, getting a nod from everyone on the table.

"Trixie, spike, let me show you to your room" celestia addressed to the both of them. Spike and her were confused about the wording she used. "Excuse me, our?" both of them asked in unison. "This castle is large but it's not a hotel, it's only meant to house a small amount of ponies" celestia explained. Spike nodded but then he thought about something. "About the room…" spike was about to ask until twilight stood up to confirm his theory. "It was supposed to be your room, it's quite nice actually" twilight still kept her cheery attitude. "I bet it is" spike replied with a smile. Trixie was surprised at the instant amount of composure and lack of fear from spike. Maybe all the smiles actually helped him a bit. Trixie yawned, actually getting a little tired herself. "If there's a soft bed, i call the bed" trixie said, telling her first halfway joke. It got a chuckle from the room. The joke was only effective because she was at least 80% serious about it. "Alright, enough fun, a princess needs her sleep too" celestia said, finishing with her own half serious joke as she lead the group to their room.

 **Castle: main floor, boarding hallways**

"For housing a small amount of ponies, there sure are a lot of doors" spike commented as the group were walking through the halls. Twilight decided to tag along for a reason she didn't necessarily explain to trixie and spike. "Well, for a castle this large in size, i call it a small amount" celestia replied with a smile. This gained a chuckle from spike and trixie. Twilight was completely in her head while walking with everyone. She was lagging behind and seemed barely engaged. While spike was talking to the princess, this left trixie to ponder about her. "Hey…" trixie tried to engage with twilight in a hushed tone before she finally woke from her half stasis. "Oh, sorry, i was just thinking.." twilight replied with the same tone, not even trying to fake a smile. Saying that trixie never held a grudge would be a complete lie. Half her life was dedicated by acting out vengeance based on a grudge. However, after all the time that passed between the two, it was almost like that grudge never existed. "Um… are you sure your ok?" trixie asked. Twilight nodded and replied "even if i wasn't, i don't want to worry spike". Without even thinking about it, trixie nodded in reply. Twilight noticed this nod and that immediately peaked interest away from her melancholy. "Hey, how's it been between you two?" she asked trixie. This question seemed to have come from nowhere in trixie's mind. "Eventful but the good kind of eventful" trixie replied in a manner not even she understood fully. "I wish i could say the same for myself…" twilight replied with a sigh. Trixie was surprised by her admitting this. "Don't be insulted when i ask this but…" before trixie could even finish her assumption, twilight quickly interjected. "No, it's not the work!" just the assumption that work might be too much to handle was insult enough for twilight. Sadly, twilight was loud enough with her frustration that the rest of the group heard it. Spike and celestia immediately turned their attention to her. "Sorry…" twilight said, receding into embarrassment. Celestia sighed, her saying this was the closest to understanding her mindset in months.

"Then what is it?" celestia was thinking this but couldn't ask her this for now. Trixie decided not to push further either. Spike took her outburst a little bit harder though. For now he didn't feel like speaking on it or expressing that worry. "I think we should just get going" spike said, desperately wanting to be anywhere else but next to twilight. Twilight knew the dragon for years, so of course she noticed the jaded nature in his voice. "Spi…." before twilight could say anything, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Twilight looked to her side and saw trixie doing only one thing. Shaking her head, signaling her to drop it for now. Twilight decided to take her advice and subtly nodded in confirmation. They all continued their walk in a deafening silence. Nobody knowing what to say to each other after that point. Trixie was ready to accept this at first but something was bothering her about it. Before she even could say anything, this time she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was twilight and she had a request for trixie in a hushed tone. "Could you tell spike not to blame himself?" trixie nodded in acceptance. However, it didn't really feel like the truth to her. "I think him seeing you constantly bottle things up is a little worse" she replied in a hushed tone. Twilight then turned to her and said something that would stick with trixie for the rest of the night. "You know what they say about glass houses trixie…" twilight said this with a ridiculous amount of hushed attitude. Trixie sighed, knowing that this is way beyond just the truth. After that small confrontation, the rest of the walk to the room was dead silent.

 **Castle: spike and trixie's guest room**

The room was massive and it definitely showed signals of not being just for one. The room walls were white, like any other in the castle but the similarities stop there. Two king sized beds were the first thing you saw when opening the door. They looked comfy and damn inviting to the two looking at them. Between the beds was a small desk with a framed photo of something spike couldn't make out. Even with these beds there was enough room to walk around and find a large circular stained glass window on the far right side of the room. Giving you an amazing view of the city of canterlot. There were two doors for each side of the room, these were seperate bathrooms with showers for the both of them. "This… this is a masterpiece, i almost wanna cry…" trixie commented, gaining a smile from celestia and twilight. Spike was very indifferent and his response proved that. "Yeah… i think i'm just ready to finally rest" his voice was drained beyond belief. He just walked inside the room and picked the bed that was closest to the window. This left celestia, trixie and twilight still standing outside of the room. Both celestia and trixie saw twilight in her own type of mood. "I guess were all a little tired today…" trixie said with an awkward chuckle. Twilight gave her a nod in reply and decided to leave without a goodbye. Celestia saw her walking away and gave a frustrated sigh. "I'm sorry about that, just try and get some rest, ok?" celestia directed this at both spike and trixie. Spike would rather look up at the ceiling then talk but trixie nodded in reply. Celestia then decided to leave as well, secretly hoping to catch twilight before she disappeared to her workroom.

Trixie sighed, walking to her bed and collapsing onto it. In her laid position, she turned her head towards spike. "Just letting you know, twilight said not to blame yourself.." she said half heartedly, knowing it wouldn't mean much. "Of course she did but i know the truth…" spike replied, literally doing the opposite of twilight's request. "Spike, you really don't know if that's the case…" trixie replied, spike then turned his head towards her direction. "She said it wasn't work…" spike replied, having that be the only proof he needs for self blame. "But that doesn't mean your existence would fix that and you know that" trixie replied, not really knowing that many things to say. "I...i know but what if it could?" spike asked her. Trixie was silent for a good minute. "Are you implying…" before trixie could finish this thought, spike confirmed it. "I'm thinking of staying, becoming an assistant again…" spike didn't sound too thrilled by this and trixie wasn't sure how to feel. "Didn't you want to do your own thing, find who you are?" trixie asked him, spike shook his head. "That goes on the backburner, i need to try and help her" spike replied. "He's doing it again…" trixie thought to herself, referring to looking after everyone else but himself. It can be an endearing trait but also a deadly one and trixie sees it breaking him down. "Do you think twilight would really want to see you give up something you wanted for her?" trixie asked directly, hoping this would snap him out of it. Spike was quiet, this was something that he really was thinking about. "I…" it started with a smaller sniffle. Spike was thinking and thinking but just couldn't find the answer. "Spike…" trixie tried to naively call out to him. "I… i don't think i know what to do…." spike said, putting his claws on his face. Everything was becoming a headache. He now remembers exactly why coming to the castle felt like a nightmare to him. Trixie just continued to lay in her bed for awhile. Hoping that spike would start to sleep it off. However, something in the back of her mind didn't want to leave things like this. "Why don't you just talk to her?" trixie asked him. This lead to another mile of silence and another sniffle heard from spike. She then saw spike lift his head up and look at her with reddened eyes. "Because i'm scared beyond belief about what choice i'll make" he said, those words shook trixie to the core. Trixie didn't know what to say to that but she did feel a very strong emotion. "Think of all the stuff you have at ponyville, i mean, you have a marefriend for crying out loud!" trixie first exclaimed in a half joking tone. However, she couldn't hide the frustration in her voice while saying this. "I could ask her to move here….." spike replied, gearing more towards staying at the castle. "So your gonna uproot her, just to help one mare?" trixie was genuinely baffled by how many backflips spike is taking. "She's not just one mare, she raised me…" spike replied, in a faded tone. He knew his logic was getting shakier and shakier but this is all he could think of. "And what if she doesn't want to come?" she asked him, hoping to recover some kind of sense from him.

However, all she heard was silence from him. He's not thinking deeply about this, not at all. "So be it then" spike said with a sigh, breaking the silence. These words, the carelessness of the words really got to trixie. "So your just gonna abandon everything…" trixie responded passively. "I….i guess" spike replied, his unsure nature still attached to his voice. "Then it's not worth it" trixie point blank replied to the drake. "Excuse me, who are you to tell me anything.." spike replied with annoyance in his voice. At first, trixie was trying to restrain herself and understand how he's feeling. However, when he started gaining attitude with her, her old personality started to slowly seep out. "I, for one, am the mare that's thinking about this more then you…" trixie replied, hoping this was enough to get out of conflict. Spike soon started grimacing at her and it felt extremely different for him. "Why don't you stay out of this one" spike replied with annoyance in his voice. Yep, if trixie wasn't starting to get pissed off at the drake, this would be exactly when she did. "Oh i'm sooo sorry for trying to give you advice" trixie said with a extreme bite of attitude. "Advice, i didn't ask for your advice!" spike exclaimed in frustration and anger. Him saying this is what lead to an ultimate blow up between the two. "Don't get pissed at me because your plan is shitty!" she fired back at him. "I'm warning you, step away from this…" spike replied with a quiet intensity, seeming like a threat. At this point both of them were completely sat up in their beds. "What did you say to me?" trixie asked, replying with her own semi threatening tone. "You know what i meant…" spike said passively. His head didn't feel clear at all, it was like an entirely different dragon took control of him. This reminded him of the time when he was consumed by greed. He didn't even notice that his claws were out during this whole thing. Trixie did and she was either the stupidest or bravest mare to ever stand alongside spike. She got up and walked to spike's bed, putting herself face to face with the drake. "Then do something about it, hurting me isn't gonna change how much of a coward you're being right now!" trixie was beyond pissed at spike during this point. Honestly, maybe she wasn't thinking clearly either. They were both deadlocked, waiting for one of them to make some kind of move. As he was looking in her eyes, his first and most feral instinct was to take her up on her offer. However, his claws started to shake and his thoughts started to fully construct themselves. "I…" his rage was slowly starting to subside. Trixie was honestly relieved that she didn't just set herself up to die.

"I don't wanna go backwards…" spike said softly, the only words he could truly muster. Trixie took a deep breath, admittedly still slightly pissed about the drake threatening her. "I..i don't know what to say to you anymore…" trixie, at this very moment, was close to completely giving up on spike. "No, you said plenty…" spike replied, his voice suddenly gaining more cracks. Trixie was at a loss for words at this point. She wasn't a wise mare at all and didn't have all the answers but she wanted to give it one last try. "Spike…" trixie addressed the drake to gain his attention. He looked up towards her and was ready to listen. "Whatever choice you make… if it's yours, then you are moving forward" trixie said this to him from the bottom of her heart. Even while spike was still in his mood, he felt that from her. "Um, thank you…" spike replied to her, feeling slightly better. Trixe nodded, the whole argument actually made her quite tired. She shuffled back to her bed and plopped onto it. "And, i'm sorry for… you know…" trixie heard spike start to apologize halfly but she already dismissed it. "Hey, it's fine, i know it wasn't you…." trixie said, sounding half sleep in the process. "How?" spike asked, honestly believing her. "Your eyes…." trixie sounding closer and closer to being sleep. "Huh?" spike was puzzled by what she meant by that. At this point, trixie was in a lucid state, she wouldn't remember the last thing she said. "Your eyes are the most expressive part about you, they told the truth… and… i… lo…" before she could finish her sentence, she was fast asleep. Spike laughed off what trixie was about to say while half sleep. "My eyes, huh?" spike thought to himself, it almost provoked him to blush. Spike decided to hit the hay as well, he's gonna have an eventful day tomorrow.

 **Castle, floor 2: twilight's personal quarters**

To think that twilight would be able to get some sleep would be a fool's idea. She was beating herself up about the outburst she had repeatedly. "Why did i do that?" she asked herself with nobody around to call her crazy for doing so. She's been asked this question so many times before. She's a born worker and her nose was still the most comfortable in a book. It was an easy one to answer, no, a simple no would have done just fine. She was lying on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. For the first time in a while, she didn't want to even look at her stack of papers on the work desk. She knew it was basically useless to send a message through trixie to alleviate his worries. "He's probably trying to stay here…" twilight said to herself. The one question that never popped up in her head is whether or not she'd stop him. As she was laying around in her room, she heard a knock on her door. "Twilight… it's me.." twilight could recognize that voice in a crowd of millions. It was celestia and she didn't need to even say her name for twilight to know that. She contemplated not even answering the door but peeving the princess didn't seem like good idea. She got up and went for the door, opening up to reveal a less then happy looking celestia.

"Twil…" celestia looked as if she was ready for speech mode but twilight was ready with her counter. "What i did was selfish, i know and i'm sorry, didn't know what came over me" twilight quickly interjected her. Celestia was not surprised with how easily she predicted what she was about to lecture her on. "Thanks, skipped me a lecture, now let's actually talk" celestia replied to her. Twilight was able to get a chuckle out of that and thought of something. "I don't think this is the best place to have a long form conversation" twilight replied. Celestia nodded and suggested a different place "how about the garden?" she suggested, shocking twilight. "Isn't it a little late to do that?" twilight asked. "Tonight's a beautiful night, might as well enjoy it" celestia replied with a smile. For twilight, she was torn on whether or not she wanted to talk with celestia. Talking hasn't really done that much for her lately. "We don't even need to talk, get some time outside and under the stars, clear your head" celestia added to her statement. Twilight thought on that suggestion and made a quick decision. "Sounds good" twilight replied, for once actually seeking out a change of scenery. Celestia was actually surprised she managed to get twilight outside of her room. "Alright, let's go before you change your mind!" celestia said in excitement that would seem uncharacteristic for her. Twilight knows this as the most personal version of celestia you'd get to know. This slightly warmed her heart and got her to smile once more. Celestia was already out the door and twilight quickly followed suit

 **Castle garden**

The garden was already a pretty and calming place to be. However, during the night with the smallest bit of candlelight coming from set locations. It made the garden almost seem magical without even casting a spell. With the stars guiding them to one of the only small open fields in the garden. The two decided to skip finding the bench in the garden and just lay on the grass side by side. There was an almost eerie silence between the two. Twilight was occupied by the stars in the sky and celestia was occupied with her worries. "Twilight…" celestia called out to her. Twilight sighed, not even turning her head towards the princess. "I can't keep babysitting you, i need to know your gonna be ok…" celestia was lacking care at this point. She was honestly just hoping that she'd have any kind of feedback from her. "I know…." twilight replied to her passively. "So, if you feel any kind of way right now, while i still have the time to help, please tell me" celestia seemed desperate, this was her last attempt to reach her. Twilight was thinking about just staying quiet. I mean, she was offered the option of just staying silent. However, something about what celestia said bothered her. She finally turned her head away from the stars and put her focus on celestia. "I can't describe it at times…" the princess was finally seeing some kind of breakthrough. "But, i don't feel as connected to the world, that's the best i can do description wise" twilight said softly. Celestia nodded, she was paying full attention to her words. Once she this from her pupil's mouth, it became immediately clear to her what's going on. "Twilight, it's hard to admit at first but i know what your feeling…." celestia was about to start but twilight already knew her assumption. "I can't be lonely…. I just can't!" twilight interjected loudly, like celestia hit a pretty sensitive bone. However, her emotions were still slowly fading.

Celestia finally understood where she was and it broke her heart more then not understanding her. "Friends, family, genuine connection will keep you grounded to world, without that…." celestia was saying but she was once again interrupted by twilight. "I… i do, flash, he hangs out with me" she seemed desperate to defend herself from celestia's correct assumption. "On your time, which you purposely make none of" celestia quickly responded. She didn't want to even raise her voice at twilight. Based on how twilight sounded, she was almost ready to break into tears. "If i gonna become something great, i need the discipline to achieve it…" twilight replied shakily. She knew her logic wasn't sound but all she wanted was to protect herself. "So protecting ponyville, canterlot and who knows how many other places, isn't enough?" celestia genuinely asked. "If it was, i wouldn't be a desk worker…" twilight replied with her voice still shaky. "I..i thought you wanted a job as a transcripter" celestia replied, her memory of that day being unclear. Twilight was silent, she remembered that day perfectly. "You didn't tell me this but i'm sure you wanted the job to stay close to your friends" celestia said, at this point working off of pure theory. Twilight then started shaking her head in pure denial. "No.." twilight couldn't even reply with a counter reason. "Come on, i know you're smarter then this…" the moment these words came out of celestia's mouth, that's when she started breaking down. Twilight at first just sigh but the sniffles soon started coming. "Your right… but, if i'm going to be anything like…." twilight stopped mid sentence, not wanting that to slip out. "Like...me?" celestia asked, fearing that being the truth of it all. "Twilight, um…" celestia for the first time in awhile was taken aback by something. "I know, right, for me, that's the silliest thing in the world…" this is the moment that tears started forming in twilight's eyes. "It's just, this has been a dream and being an ambassador would have been amazing years ago…" celestia was just blown aback by her continued breakdown. "But...but i keep looking back, i wanna stop looking back!" twilight finished into a full on sob. "Twilight…" celestia addressed her in a much softer and motherly tone.

Twilight looked towards her with tears still freshly coming from her eyes. "Sometimes friendships fade and maybe there are times your gonna be alone…" celestia was starting to speak but as she was, she was slowly forming connections with her younger self. Twilight very much reminded her of a pre princess version of herself. "But, you still have time and time can mean so many things for you" celestia finished with words that came from the bottom of her heart. Twilight crying started to soften a little bit and her words were starting to stick. "I..i want to see them again, i don't want them to disappear" twilight said, her voice still shaky and recovering from her breakdown. "They don't have to yet, spike is here, set something up with him" celestia was beyond happy to finally start reaching twilight, even if it was slowly. Twilight took a deep breathe, trying to shake off her current emotions. "I'll...i'll try that" twilight said softly, giving her something to think about. "It doesn't go away easily, it takes time but don't shut yourself off, there is always a new adventure to go on" celestia last bit of wisdom hit twilight the hardest. This is something she wanted to hear for a long time. However, she didn't have the emotional power at the time to say this for herself. Twilight nodded in reply and looked back up at the stars. This time with more of a slightly changed outlook on her world. "You know what, i think i want that break" twilight said, her eyes still glued to the sky. Celestia looked at her pupil with a smile, knowing she's breaking her shell. "Sure, maybe we can discuss other things as well.." celestia added, knowing twilight would catch on to what she meant. However, with a sigh, twilight returned her gaze to celestia. "Um, not yet, give me time to think about that offer" she replied, still not sure about the position she was offered years ago. "Of course, ambassador is a big ask, although i'll admit, the offer does have a time limit" celestia replied, twilight nodding in acknowledgement. "Give me a day, let me talk to spike first, then i'll be sure" twilight replied. While still being on the ropes about moving on from what was her home for years. It was still the most solid answer celestia has gotten to this question from her.

She nodded in acknowledgement, grateful that this time she's actually thinking about it. Twilight was contempt at staying in her position forever. However, the princess had many other things to do the next day that required her energy. "I have to get some sleep, tomorrow is a big day, you can stay as long as you'd like" celestia said, getting up from her resting position on the grass. Twilight nodded and refocused her attention on the stars. Celestia looked back and saw something different in twilight. For once, she was in a state of calm and it pleased her to no end. Celestia then took her leave and made her way out of the garden with a smile on her face. Twilight was just glad that her head could be clear for at least her moment she's spending under the stars.

 **The next day, early morning: spike and trixie's guest room**

The sunlight was beaming through the window, signaling the start of a new day. Spike was wide awake, thinking about the conversation he was going to have today. "Should i do it earlier or later?" spike asked himself. Although he was fighting with himself on the timing, he knew today was going to be the day. The intense talk that trixie and him had last night gave influence to this decision. Spike also had another thing on his mind about that night. "My eyes… huh" this was something that refused to leave spike's head after he heard it. I mean, they are just the eyes of any other dragon. What makes them so special to her? Spike decided to shake that out of his mind. Besides, it definitely not the most important thing he's up to today. As his eyes were glued to the ceiling, he heard the yawn of a waking mare. Spike was surprised that she even had the energy to wake up early after last night. "Ugh…." was the first words that escaped from trixie's lips. She lifted her head and looked towards the drake in almost half contempt. "Dragon, why am i up?" trixie asked. Spike looked towards her and was almost ready to be offended by her statement but two things kept that from happening. One, after the argument they had last night, he's giving her a free pass. Two, the mare had a hilarious case of bedhead and spike was trying to contain his laughter. Spike was trying to just be silent on the matter but little snickers kept coming out. Trixie's contempt was replaced with confusion at spike's snickering. "What are you…." before trixie could even finish her sentence, she looked towards the room window. In the small bit of reflection, she saw her bedhead. "Oh… of course!" trixie exclaimed and it was with this reaction that spike started to laugh.

Trixie was at first slightly irritated but seeing him laugh after what happened the previous night. It allowed her to loosen up for his sake and give off a small chuckle herself. Something about today had a different feel for even trixie. " _I don't.."_ what seemed like a rouge thought popped in her head. "Alright, alright, enough fun, you have a mare to confront" trixie said, spike was already done with his laugh at this point. "I only laughed for like, 4 seconds" spike replied in a snarky tone. "Well… 4 seconds too long" trixie replied jokingly. Spike sighed, getting his reminder of the big event for today. "Come on, you can do this…" trixie said to the seemingly worried drake. "Oh, i know, just preparing myself mentally" spike replied. Trixie was willing to accept this but something was starting to bother her as well. " _To go"_ parts of a thought were radiating in her head. The reason why she even managed to get up was because she didn't want to miss something. "Alright, i'm gonna take a shower…" spike said, getting up from his bed and heading into his bathroom. Trixie nodded and decided to wait for spike to finish before taking hers. She sat in silence while the hearing the water in spike's shower run. Her gaze was focused on the door to his bathroom. Then, the final piece of her unorganized thought came to her. " _Want you"_ it didn't take long for trixie to piece it together. The only thing she had left to do was say it. Confirm the feeling she's been having this entire trip, something was even on her mind while sleeping on the train. "But it's selfish, it's beyond selfish" she said to herself quietly, not wanting to risk spike hearing her. Trixie was willing to follow through on not saying anything relating to that thought. However, as soon as she heard spike turning the water down, it felt as if a time limit was placed on her. " _Don't let them take him from…"_ trixie kept trying to cut that line of thinking short. She would rather stay quiet then fall into that trap of thinking. Then, spike emerged from the bathroom.

Trixie looked directly at him and was glady silent when he addressed her. "Alright, do you want me to wait for you or…" spike was about to ask but trixie shook her head. "No, i'll meet you" trixie said, with spike nodding in acknowledgement. "Alright everyone, breakfast is indeed ready!" both of them heard luna's booming voice through the door. "Go on, tell luna i'll be there in a little bit" trixie said, trying to rush spike out of the door. Spike nodded and made his way out of the room. Trixie took the small bit of time she had alone and was ready to admit something she feared for awhile. "I don't want him to go…" trixie said the first part just fine. The second one was a little harder for a good reason. She hasn't felt this way for any pony in years and no one has felt it for her. "I need to figure these stupid feelings out!" she said in frustration. For now, she decided to start her shower and hopefully enjoy a good breakfast this morning.

 **An: i'm starting with the biggest i'm sorry ever. A lot of really big life stuff happened that delayed this chapter for so long. Every time i've promised a new chapter at a designated time, it never worked out. Now the chaotic part of my life is figured out for now, i can promise you this. The next chapter is coming out either this month or the beginning of next month. I'm working really hard on consistent chapters and i hope you stick around for the ride. Thank for you reading and following this story. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: canterlot finale part one

 **Castle, main dining hall**

Compared to the last meal they had, this table was remarkably silent. Everyone already had some type of agenda with the other. Spike was dead set on actually having an open conversation with twilight. Celestia was hanging onto the results of the conversation that twilight and spike were planning to have. Luna was wondering exactly what she was gonna do with her guest today. Matter of fact, compared to everyone, luna was thinking the most about her day today.

"I never really go out, maybe a walk on the town…" luna's head was spinning with excitement.

Something that most ponies didn't know until they met luna is how much she values connection. Just by sight, it's easier to mistake her for something a little bit more intimidating but this just makes things harder for her. She loves meeting others and desperately wants ponies to see who she truly is. That's why her role in the night is what she has the most passion for. Consoling others about their problems for the short amount of time is a joy for her. She never forgets any story she's been told by anyone and tries her best to help everyone. That want for connection is what's leading her to this current point.

"Excuse me but where's trixie?" luna asked, being the first to break the silence.

"She'll be here in a bit, she woke up a little later then me" spike replied.

Luna wasn't worried but she does know that something could be on her mind after the last meal they had together.

"Hey, twi.." spike said, trying to gain twilight's attention. This was a successful venture as twilight turned her head towards the drake.

"Do you wanna hang out today, like, go somewhere in the city?" spike asked her. Obviously he was going to get a yes from her, getting that chance to talk while having a little fun.

"Of course, how about after breakfast?" twilight asked, spike nodded in reply.

"The sooner the better" spike said with a smile, twilight returning that smile with her own.

Twilight was already feeling a little lighter after yesterday's talk with celestia. It seemed that confronting what she was running from did the trick. Admitting that some kind of pressure was getting to her was a hard thing to do. However, she stills feels some slight unease about taking the next step in her life.

"Ambassador…" twilight took this thought and honestly felt very warm about it.

When she first even thought about working in the castle, her goal was this. Traveling the world, meeting different races and trying to find peace within those races. It all sounded like an impossible dream to her but it almost came true. However, she was given a choice, a choice that she wished wasn't given to her. Fear lead her into making the choice she ended up with and she'll never let that stop her again.

"Look who's come to the table…" spike said sarcastically.

After taking a bit more time in the bathroom then usual, trixie lulamoon finally made her way to the breakfast table. However, she did something that showed she was having some kind of issue. She glanced at spike and immediately put her head down. She then took her seat next to luna and started eating the food in front of her. This display really off put the group but it more or less confused spike in general. However, luna wasn't surprised by this mood shift at all. Ever since the first meal they had, she picked up on something that should seem very apparent to everyone.

"So, are you ready to have fun today?" luna asked in the most casual she has sounded in years towards anyone besides her sister. Her excitement was the most apparent with the chipper tone she used to say these words.

"Huh?... i mean, yeah, of course!" trixie exclaimed, cobbling together a reply, hinting pretty loudly that she wasn't paying attention.

The lack of attention was something that luna picked up on quite easily. It would be fair to assume that she saw something like this coming. However, she didn't carry this opinion with any type of ego. She carried it with great empathy for the young mare. Conflict and love were both feelings that luna could strongly relate to.

"Are you alright?" spike asked, clearly seeing through trixie's false veneer with concern for her.

This concern didn't help the mare's already frazzled mental state. The concern and kindness were both things she really liked about him. Or, at least, she trying to push those things about him out of her mind. She looked back at the drake and wasn't sure what was about to come out her mouth.

"I'm fine, just thinking…" she replied passively.

"Thinking about what?" spike asked, not letting her go as easily as she wanted.

She was screwed, not ready to come up with a effective lie. Just the thought of a previous stage pony not being to come up with a good lie was funny in her mind. She was dead silent for at least a good minute before a princess came to her rescue.

"It's rude to poke into matters of a private nature" luna said in her highly intimidating tone.

Honestly, the tone wasn't something that trixie was a fan of but it did the trick. The drake was left flustered and embrassed.

"I...i'm sorry" spike said nervously before reverting back into silence.

She did feel kind of bad for the way things ended up due to her silence. However, this seemed more like a thing that would be forgotten about pretty soon. But still, even with how frazzled she was feeling, she felt the need to reassure him.

"Hey, it's fine, no hard feelings" trixie said in her clearest voice possible while faking a smile.

Spike took luna's advice and left it at that, no matter how much of his being wanted to probe more. Because of this, the table was lead with a small but uncomfortable silence. Each and everyone on this table was in their own mind for a short second. That is, until luna actually decided to speak up.

"So, any plans for today sister?" luna asked, casually trying to break the silence

"Catching up on old work, days off actually give me anxiety…" celestia replied passively, revealing a chink in her armor.

"Why is that?" spike asked, breaking the embrassed silence he was in.

Celestia was expecting for someone to explain her point of view. Expecting and being prepared for the possibility are two very different things.

"I...when i'm doing nothing, i think about everything that needs to be done, something i deal with on my own time.." celestia replied, gaining a nod from the entire room.

This was something that celestia kept secret from everyone for years. It was mostly easy since no one has ever saw her on a day off. She kept things this way intentionally, not wanting to break the image of strength and reliability. Even though this was something that would imply having a distance from ponies around her, it actually meant the opposite. Due to her more visually approachable demeanor, her subjects didn't fear her. This was a fact that luna was eternally jealous of.

The table was quiet once more, everyone almost finished with the meals and ready to engage in their separate days. The pairs that were grouping together gave each other a glance before the next words were spoken by celestia.

"Well, i have a busy day today, i'm taking my leave, have a good day everyone!" celestia said in a highly chipper tone. Gaining nods and smiles from the entire group as she got up and left the table.

It didn't take long for the rest of them to finish their meals. Spike was about to take his dishes to wash them but forgot about the cardinal rule of the castle. Happy to work servants will always be available to do simple tasks like washing a dish. Trixie took a quick glance at spike before he and twilight left to do who knows what.

This left trixie and luna at the table to sit to ponder silently at the table. However, luna was quietly excited but waiting for spike to be far enough in order to address it directly. As spike and twilight reached their final step upstairs, seemingly heading for twilight's study. Luna turned her head towards trixie and said the words and immediately started a conversation.

"When did it start?" luna asked, trixie was puzzled by what she meant by that. Luna saw that puzzled look she gave her and pushed more.

"You know, the feelings you harbor for the drake" luna finished. Trixie was shocked by how upfront she was about it.

"Um… well, i… i don't know what your talking about…" trixie replied, nervously stumbling through every word.

Luna clicked her tongue and shook her head in disbelief. She knew how easy it would be to catch her off guard. However, what she needed was her to admit it and that maybe the hard part.

"Don't be embrassed by it, love is…." luna didn't even get to finish her sentence before trixie interjected.

"Magical?, special? Pfft, i wish that was the case…." trixie said dismissively. Being unaware that she basically confirmed luna's suspicion.

A lot of things were against trixie in this scenario. She docked a point for being desirable and likeable in her own head. In honesty, she feels like spike's project then any kind of love rival and that's not even heading towards the biggest issue. Going after someone who is seemingly in a good relationship. Thinking toxicity would ever come from either spike or fluttershy in their relationship seems idiotic. Plus, in the end, what would spike really be getting that he can't get from her. These were thoughts that plagued and invaded her mind, making the idea of feelings less positive.

"Why don't we talk somewhere else…" luna said, honestly just wanting to leave the castle for today while still wanting to listen to trixie.

Trixie thought the idea of fresh air was a good one. Canterlot was a place that she wouldn't end up in for a long time. She looked at the mare and gave her a passive nod in reply. Her and luna emerged from their seats, luna ready to have a nice day.

"Wait… i'll be right back, let me get my… hoodie?" luna was seemingly asking her new compatriot.

"Um… maybe go for a sunhat, don't look as if you have something to hide" trixie replied, charmed by her childlike excitement about the day.

"Your right, your right!" luna replied, finding trixie's advice very useful as she headed for her room upstairs.

Trixie couldn't help hold a smile and get excited to hangout with a princess like luna. However, spike was something she couldn't get out of her mind. Matter of fact, the question that luna asked her before got her to think. She remembers the exact day her feelings started to grow for him. However, at this current moment, she doesn't wanna tell the difference between acknowledgement and truth. For now, she decided to continually push back these thoughts and wait for luna to inevitable address them.

However, time for self thinking was immediately over as she heard the hoofsteps of the princess approaching her. She turned her head to see a admittable nice looking princess in front of her.

"For some reason, the sunhat puts it all together" trixie said, gaining a nervous chuckle from the princess.

Luna decided to ditch the small necklace like chest place that had her insignia on it for today. Foolishly thinking that this would not make her instantly recognizable in public. However, she did find a casual looking and form fitting light blue dress. Her goal was looking at least presentable to the populus she was about to face.

" _I see, you changed your look… but you'll never change yourself, at least, you're never gonna be rid of me.."_ the unpleasant voice that plagued the princess has finally returned to haunt her again.

"No…." luna slipped out in the lowest of low voices. Hoping that trixie didn't hear her. Gladly she didn't and they were semi ready to attack the day. Both walking side by side, carrying a good amount weight with them.

 **Castle: twilight's quarters**

"Oh my…." these were spike's immediate first words when seeing twilight's living conditions.

It wasn't dirty in the traditional sense but it was definitely crowded with various file folders and books. For someone living in a castle, a room the size of a broom closet seemed off. The admittable well maintained mattress, was basically the entire floor. The only space that wasn't just the mattress was the small wood desk with a stack of files on it. Spike was genuinely surprised that twilight wasn't embrassed to show this off.

"I know, it's bad…" twilight followed that reply with a sigh. She now started regretting taking spike in here.

She didn't even remember the purpose of starting here, why not talk in the garden? This was basically the cesspool of twilight sparkle. However, this didn't really phase her in the end. It felt like showing a family member you terrible mess. Sure it's embarrassing for anyone to see a visible version of your worst self. But, in the end, you have an expectation that family would be more forgiving about these things. She only halfway had this expectation for spike and he didn't disappoint.

"No, i mean… whatever makes you comforta…." spike was quickly trying to cobble up a good excuse.

"But i'm not comfortable…" twilight quickly interjected, leading spike to a very instant silence.

Spike felt that he needed to think about the next couple words to say to her. However, this process didn't take long for him finish.

"Then why?" spike asked, cutting directly to the chase. Not wanting to overthink something as addressing a room situation.

Twilight took a quick glance at her overly cluttered table and immediately had the answer in her mind. She took a seat on the mattress and this immediately cued the dragon into sitting right next to her. Twilight first gave a deep sigh and started her response.

"I guess, punishment…" twilight started.

Spike was paying full attention to her as she spoke and was halfway towards understanding her.

"Did you know, i was originally going to be an ambassador" twilight said, spike had a face of disbelief at this fact.

"Yep, and it was my choice to skip that and become a translator. celestia was ok with my decision but she knew just as well as me that i didn't belong here…" twilight ended that sentence with a short sigh.

"I had fears, lots of them, it didn't help that nobody decided to get in touch with me. It felt like a bunch of loose ends needed to be tied… at least that's how it felt the first year…" twilight voice slightly faded at this point.

This is where spike felt terribly bad and he was unknowingly showing this on his face. He even put into question his own reason for staying in ponyville. He didn't really have time for that line of thinking thanks to helping out trixie.

"Anyways, during the 2 years i've spent here, i originally used this place as my workroom and your guest room as a bedroom...But i piled on work after piece of work and decided i should live in it" twilight quickly finished, thinking her reasons was pretty straightforward. However, her tone was starting to sound pretty dismissive about her quite melancholic time at the castle.

Spike was loaded and ready for apology mode. Feeling like he owned every bit of misery that twilight suffered through. He never wrote her, visited her and was afraid to even acknowledge her after their goodbye.

His lips were about to form the trademark words that twilight was ready to here from him. Knowing this, she was already prepared with a response.

"Don't, if i wanted to see you, i would have found a way and i didn't. if it makes you feel better, it's both our faults for not connecting" twilight said this as firmly as possible. Not wanting spike to harbor any guilt about her years at the castle.

Spike nodded in reply, the feeling not going away at all but atleast respecting twilight's wishes on the matter.

Actually, what seemed to be the heaviest part of their conversation was basically over. Spike really over blew the results of their conversation in his mind. Talking to her was something spike feared for years and this is all it amounted to. It was so funny to him, spike just had to comment about it

"Well… that was way less than i expected" spike said with a chuckle.

Twilight nodded and started chuckling herself after saying

"Were you expecting big dramatic waterworks, cause i'm sorry to disappoint, you missed out" twilight replied. spike finding that morbidly funny for their current situation.

After they both had their piece, they shared a hearty laugh together. This small fraction of time was something missed between the two. However, it was actually twilight that valued small moments like these more then spike. The two took a slow breath after their laughing fit and spike immediately switched his tone.

"Seriously though, i'll make sure to write you everyday, i promise" spike said to her, getting a nod from twilight.

This promise actually put a genuine and warm smile on twilight's face. These weren't the simple words that twilight was always looking for but they were important enough. Hearing this was actually helping twilight make up her mind on an important decision.

"From the bottom of my heart, thank you spike…" twilight said warmly, feeling the weight their current conversation is lifting from her.

Spike was both half confused and slightly embrassed at her thanks. He didn't feel as if he said anything with that much weight to her. However, he decided to take the credit mentally.

"No problem!" spike exclaimed with a cheesy thumbs up motion towards the mare. Twilight gave off a small chuckle at spike's motion.

After spike gave his reply, he remembered something very important. Matter of fact, it's been so long since he's seen the pink mare and that worried him.

"Did pinkie pie mention anything about a going away party?" spike asked her.

Twilight shook her head, not even receiving any kind of correspondence from anyone and that included pinkie pie.

"No, not at all, is there something wrong?" twilight asked.

Now that twilight mentioned it, spike hasn't heard anything from pinkie in about a month. It's not like her to forget something like a party or saying goodbye to her friends. However, spike decided to not let it worry him for now. She might have just taken a small trip or something of that nature.

While spike was thinking, twilight was already getting up from her spot on that mattress and was ready to leave her cramped room

"Alright, your in canterlot after all, let's do something fun before you leave!" twilight said with a random burst of excitement.

Spike agreed to that sentiment but after going to the pawn shop in canterlot, he wasn't sure his finances could take anymore. Spike didn't know that this thought process turned into a very visible look on his face.

"Of course wherever we go is on me, my salary is pretty large…." twilight said, doing her best version of a humble brag.

"Any salary is big when you don't buy anything" spike said with a chuckle while getting up from the mattress as well.

Twilight was only slightly amused by this as they were both walking out of her room. However, that didn't mean she had nothing in return before fully leaving her room.

"Any salary is low when your irresponsible" twilight said in return with a hearty laugh.

Spike held his heart, twilight cutting deeper then he remembered she could. In the end, he still ended up laughing with her. Both of them walked side by side, fully reconciled with each other. It's almost like time never truly passed for them and they were aloud to walk without their baggage weighing them down.

 **Canterlot: celestial diner**

The first place that luna wanted to stop by was this diner. A diner the overlooked the outskirts of the city, only miles before the fairgrounds. All she's ever heard from her guards is how great the atmosphere and food is.

Just walking into the place gave off a homely atmosphere. The walls were of a warm brown color and the floors were made of brown hardwood. The checkout desk was small with a large door behind the desk. This was probably leading to the kitchen in the back where the heavenly scent of baked goods were coming from. Luna was immediately struck by this scent and that just made her hungrier.

While luna wanted to keep her desperate hunger a secret, trixie was no such mare.

"Wow, it smells so good!" trixie said in childlike like excitement.

This allowed the small amount of eyes that were in the diner to direct their attention towards them. These eyes finally noticed that a princess enter the diner and because of that, their gaze never left them.

However, something that luna noticed immediately was the look in the ponies eyes. No love or even adoration was shown in them. Heavy respect but the kind of respect earned by fear and nothing more.

" _All you have to do is play the role…."_ that plague of a voice was returning again.

She couldn't lock up or talk to something that doesn't exist in front of all these ponies. Breaking down would only exile her more. For now, no matter how heavy her steps seem to be, going up to order was her priority.

"Hey, i'll cover lunch for today, is that ok with you?" trixie asked her.

Luna didn't see why this would be a problem so she nodded in approval. Trixie gave her a bright smile in return and made her way towards checkout desk and luna followed suit.

The register mare wasn't really paying attention until trixie spoke up.

"Excuse me" trixie asked politely, gaining the attention of the mare behind the desk.

She was looking under her desk for something until she pulled her head up and saw the tall princess infront of her.

"Princess luna…. Welcome to our humble diner, what would you like today?!" the mare said in excitement.

This excitement was quite a new reaction for her. This hasn't been something she's received in years. It reminded her of the excitement ponies had when her sister came into town and it was refreshing to see.

While overthinking this small reaction, she completely forgot that it was trixie that spoke first. She turned to her and saw a comedic look of pure defeat in her eyes. Luna didn't take it this way and decided to speak up for her.

"Thank you… but it was my friend who ordered first" luna said, refraining from using her stern voice.

Trixie looked up and heard this gesture that luna did for her and was very warmed by it. This reminded her that she was spending the day with a honest princess.

She put her head up and looked at the gigantic menu infront of her. Some of the choices on the menu were a little bit suspect in her opinion.

"Rabbit meat….?" trixie remarked aloud. Seeing a burger on the menu that featured that meat she just mentioned.

The checkout mare giggle a bit at her reaction and addressed trixie directly.

"We have a unique subset of burgers but we promise one thing, all animals are dealt with as much care as possible" the mare said to her, sounding like a corporate shill in the process.

Trixie, now knowing fluttershy in a more personal level, apologized to her in spirit as she said her order.

"I would like that rabbit burger with a side of hay fries" trixie said, feeling immensely guilty but knowing the burger is gonna be good.

Luna was still deciding but after thinking it over while trixie was ordering, she decided to keep it simple.

"I'll just take a salad…" luna said passively, the checkout mare nodded in acknowledgement.

She read off their total bits as trixie paid not reluctant at all. The checkout mare gave them their order number as their next task was finding a table for both of them. Trixie knew exactly where she wanted to sit but luna was a bit more unsure.

There were about 4 seats inside the diner and three more outside where the main attraction is. The reason why this diner is called the celestial is because of one massive thing. A couple feet next to the diner was a giant statue of princess celestia. This was a project that the staff was really passionate about. To the point where they actually had princess celestia herself oversee the project for at least a little bit of time. It's giant and highly detailed, made of pure stone and emerald for the eyes.

The diner really wanted this to be the reason you came besides the food. The last three tables were lying adjacent to a large, rectangular window pane which gave everyone a nice view of the statue. Luna didn't really care for having a statue and for that reason, celestia's statue didn't evoke any jealousy. However, that didn't mean that she wasn't feeling any type of way about it.

"Let's sit next to the window...,Unless the statue bothers you?" trixie asked, quickly remembering the giant statue outside of said window.

"No, not at all" luna replied without any hesitation in her voice.

This lead to both of them picking the seat positioned towards the middle of the window, hoping for a nice view.

Unlike twilight and spike, it took a little bit of time before trixie and luna started their conversation. Luna was a bit more awkward in public and trixie had a very big issue stewing in her mind. Trixie was waiting for luna to speak first, knowing that she was going to bring up what was on her mind. She was looking outside the window beside them until luna finally spoke up as she expected.

"So, how was your first night at the castle?" luna asked genuinely.

This wasn't what trixie expected her first question being even if it sounded like the most obvious one. At the same time, her and spike had a big fight that night but that sounded too conspiracy like. She directed her gaze at luna and decided to respond.

"Great, the room was wonderful" trixie replied, returning with a slightly forced positivity.

Finally, as trixie expected, luna started shaking her head but not clicking her tongue. Trixie guessed she might have been embrassed to do the whole bit.

"By the way you carried yourself, that doesn't seem to be the truth" luna replied in the motherly tone remeniecst of the time they spoke in trixie's dream.

This tone was something that trixie was really fond of for reasons that were unknown to her. Because of that, she couldn't reply to luna with a lie and that slightly frustrated her. Before she answered, trixie grimaced, not liking what she's about to admit.

"I...if what you say is true, then that makes me a very selfish mare" trixie replied in a defeated tone.

Luna knew this was the best that she was gonna get out of the mare. However, it was good enough and allowed her a small look into her mindset. This didn't confuse luna, it actually lined up with trixie's mindset on most things.

"What do you mean selfish?" luna asked her.

Trixie sighed, she seemed prepared for this line of questioning but that didn't mean she wanted anything to do with it. However, she didn't even really have an answer prepared for luna. While she doesn't think her line of thinking is complex, it's a feeling that she can't comprehend fully.

"Well, i don't know…" trixie passively replied.

Luna was ok with this answer because of her 100% dedication to finding out her reasons. Luna nodded in understanding and replied with her own question in return.

"Are feelings a commodity?" luna asked her, this question puzzled trixie.

"What do you mean?" trixie asked in confusion.

"Are feelings something earned, is payment required to have rights to them?" luna asked, sounding slightly snarky with her question.

This snarkiness was really peeving trixie because she still didn't understand the point she was trying to make. However, the idea was quite obvious but it still was flying straight over her head.

"I guess not, what's your point?" trixie asked, replying with her own bite of attitude.

Luna didn't appreciate this but she still decided to let it go and illustrate her point.

"Why are you acting like you need to earn the right to feel a specific way?" luna asked her directly, dropping the sarcasm completely.

Once trixie heard this, she immediately felt dumber for not seeing that coming. She felt even dumber then that for realizing how spot on she was being. She didn't make a pass at him, tell him how she felt or anything of that nature. All she did was slowly start to realize the feelings she was already harboring.

Soon enough, after thinking about what luna asked her, things started adding up for her. There was one thing on her mind when they were both waking up that morning. Thinking foolish things such as not wanting him to leave or not letting anyone take him. One of these thoughts sounding very ugly and possessive and she hated that. trixie understood what luna meant but answering her required peeling back these unwanted thoughts.

"There was a stallion, years ago obviously…" trixie decided to answer luna with a small story of her own.

"I met him one day during one of my shows and we…, no, i, was so happy with him…" trixie was reminiscing with no amount of joy in her voice.

Luna was paying attention but already knew the direction that this story was heading. Unfortunately this was a story that was all too familiar for her.

"A couple weeks later, i told him i loved him and it scared him away…." trixie followed that with a sigh.

Luna nodded, instantly feeling the heartache she would have endured in that moment. Matter of fact, the pain of scaring anyone was something that she could instantly relate to. This pain was strong enough for luna to almost tear up.

"I don't want to scare him away, luna" trixie ended her statement, calling to the princess directly.

Luna being directly addressed really hit her hard. It felt like a wish that she was trusted with personally. The hardest thing was finding any type of way to grant the wish or give her an answer. When that answer is something she doesn't even have fully figured out yet.

"What do you want then?" luna asked her in reply.

"I don't want to be alone" trixie replied with a very simple answer.

That was a simpler question to answer for luna but as she was about to answer.

" _Oh, i know, advise her to take what she wants, no matter the cost"_ the voice returned for its own input.

Luna wanted to scream, this voice seemed to never leave and wanted nothing more than her demise. She been pushing back these attempts at demsie for awhile but the more she listens, the closer it comes. Luna was wondering if she should mention the existence of this voice to trixie. However, she decided against it due to the idea of revealing such a thing being seen as scary to the public.

"I'm sorry to say but change happens no matter how much force you will against it" luna replied but these words didn't settle things for trixie.

Matter of fact, these words just pushed her into more worry then she had before. Is spike leaving something that she can't change? She didn't even like the reasons for him leaving in the first place. That's what their argument was about and luna was bold enough to tell her that her voice was worthless to him.

"But what if this change is negative for both parties?" trixie asked but her discontent was showing in her voice.

Luna was about to respond until the voice appeared once again.

" _Why would you tell the girl such a lie, is she supposed to lie down and let things happen to her…. Oh wait, that sounds…."_ the voice egged her on.

Luna finally had a visible grimace on her face, she couldn't handle the voice and it's interference on her. She looked at trixie and straight up asked her a question that secretly applied to her as well.

"How badly do you want things to stay the same?" luna asked her.

Trixie was slightly offended by this accusation but at the same time couldn't really hate her for thinking that. However, she doesn't believe that she just wanted things to stay the same.

"That's not what i…." before trixie could finish her response, luna quickly interjected.

"Why do you live with the drake?" luna asked.

Trixie had nothing but silence in response to her question.

"You seem to have a decent amount of funds on you, you could've rented somewhere, so why?" luna asked, not letting her angle go.

She's right but it isn't like trixie didn't have any type of reason for not having housing. At Least, that's what luna is lead to believe until trixie revealed this piece of information.

"I… ponies, all of them, they still have a grudge with me" trixie cobbled up a reply.

Even if it was sensible for this to be the reason, luna didn't accept this. She looked at trixie with intensity before saying the next thing on her mind.

"So then they have the right to deny you housing? there isn't one other pony in this world that would give you a place to stay?" luna asked her, breaking down what seemed like a logical excuse.

Trixie sighed, knowing that her logic was running very thin and decided to just admit the truth of her situation.

"I scoped him out, ok!" trixie blurted out.

Luna finally got the words that she wanted and something that she could truly work on with her. But in order for this to work, luna needed to play dumb to her implications.

"Scope him, what do you mean?" luna asked, trixie followed up with another sigh.

"I..i originally had a plan for one final bit of revenge but for some reason that changed…. So i had him in the back of my mind when coming back to town" trixie said with shame in her voice.

"What was that plan?" luna asked, hoping it wasn't something too dire.

"I.. i didn't know actually…" trixie said passively while falling back into her own small thoughts.

She remembered that anger, she remember the long bit of planning while returning to town. Just looking at the house fueled said anger. What she didn't remember is what changed her mind exactly but it was quite obvious.

"Anyways, instead of taking revenge, i decided to…." as soon as trixie started saying, she had a small epiphany in her mind.

Trixie instantly understood the question and point that luna was aggressively going towards. The next few word choices were about to illustrate that understanding.

"I decided to change" trixie finished.

It felt like a breath of fresh air to admit something like that but the full connective tissue wasn't coming to her yet. How this all related to what she was currently feeling? She didn't know yet and decided to let luna connect that tissue for her.

"Trixie… do we need others to validate our efforts?" luna asked the most honest thing on her mind in response to trixie.

" _Of course…."_ as soon as luna heard this voice appear, she wasn't having it.

"I didn't ask you…" luna fired back passively but sadly trixie did hear her.

"But you did…" trixie replied quite confused by her small outburst.

"Sorry, something with my… not the point, please answer the question" luna quickly and desperately wanted to redirect the focus from her maybe illness.

This one was a question that trixie really thought about for the minute she did. Her entire career for awhile was gaining validation for her efforts. She soaked it up and it made her feel more whole then any period of her life. However, she's always had a problem with the mare that looks right back at her.

The crowd could say she's the best thing since sliced bread but it didn't matter to her. Performance was like the high of drug and like most highs, it wears off. However, knowing what the crowd wants and taking both negative and positive feedback helped her. Sometimes it helped improve the show and in special cases, helped her improve herself.

The thing is, trixie lulamoon is a mare that's still figuring out who she is. She's not gonna have the perfect answer, all of these thoughts are proof of this. She doesn't want to lead luna on the path to dependency but how can you lead a path to a freedom you've never experienced.

After a crazy amount of thought for that single minute. Trixie gave her best answer for the moment.

"I hate to admit this but spike's encouragement helps me a lot sometimes. however, we need our own encouragement too, more then we think sometimes" trixie said.

For some reason, saying that gave her and strong emotional feeling. It really touched luna in a unique way. They were almost the words that she needed to hear at that exact moment and this almost linked her with trixie. Enough where she was ready to tell her about the seemingly active remnant of nightmare moon in her head. However, instead of burdening her with such a mess, she decided to give her encouragement.

"Now i won't interfere with your situation cause that would be wrong. but, he will see your heart and i see it in his eyes, he cares deeply for you" luna said to her.

Trixie looked up at her and those were words that put a giant smile on her face. While these words aren't gonna convince her to compete with fluttershy in any type of way. They did give her a small boost of confidence. She still worries about what choice he'll decide to make today. In the end, she still just wants the drake around to hang out with. He kinda canceled out her cynicism and rose being the only friend in ponyville just unsettled her.

"Thank you, don't forget how awesome you are either" trixie replied keeping her bright smile on.

This got luna to blush and get flustered slightly. However, these were also words that luna didn't even know she wanted to hear. However, something was preventing her from taking those words and it was that plague on her mind.

" _She better be talking about me, wouldn't make sense if that was directed at you…"_ the voice finally drew luna to her focal point.

She had two choices, mentally break down in the most public of places or just tell someone the issue she is having. However, her small sense of embarrassment wouldn't allow to tell trixie that she's going mad. Instead, she decided to rephrase her cry for help in a subtle but more direct way.

"Am i, even after…" trixie wouldn't even let her finish that sentence.

"Of course, matter of fact, your better for it" trixie replied.

"Better for it?" luna replied, confused by the idea.

"Yeah, coming out of the other side is one thing but coming back stronger, that's another…" trixie was saying but luna wasn't quite into this idea yet.

"But, what i've done, could never be erased, nightmare will never leave my mind…" this was the closest luna was ever gonna hint towards the voice in her head.

"Ok then, where does your command of a room come from?" trixie asked, luna shook her head once more.

"Command of a…." before luna could finish her denial, trixie had something else for her.

"Yes, that command could scare ponies but that command also saved my flank this morning" trixie finished with a chuckle, luna could only muster a small smirk at first.

"I'm working on it too, but beating ourselves up isn't gonna do anything, learn what we can, you know?" trixie finished with the most simple of presentation.

This simplicity was something that luna appreciated because it felt genuine. This also allowed her to look at the voice and nightmare moon in a different light. Maybe she should stop and try to reconcile with her old self. Thank her for the lessons learned and the traits gained from that time in that dark.

"Maybe we could…" luna was thinking but the voice decided to finish her statement for her

" _Coexist…"_ for the first time, this voice didn't sound antagonistic.

Once she heard this, everything instantly clicked for luna. This voice, it barked louder and louder for a reason. This voice was the past luna wanted to box up and ignore. As soon as luna understood that, two things happened. She nodded in response to trixie and decided to indirectly address her subconscious in her own way.

"No matter how much i push her away, nightmare moon will still be apart of me…" luna started saying.

Trixie was surprised by how open about this she was being in public. However, all this did was help place luna more down to earth for her.

"She made me blind but she also made me stronger and in the end, i'm more than just her!" luna finished with a burst of confidence.

Saying these words gave a feeling of immense relief to luna. These were words that were the hardest to say before but now came naturally to her. She still feared her control and might never lose that fear. But now she knows that fear is what drives her to do better and be better.

This also seemed to satisfy the voice, as she only heard one last thing from it before she was on her own.

" _Finally…."_ it seems as if luna's subconscious was satisfied by this as well.

Trixie felt this great sense of pride and this got her to smile for the princess. Luna saw this and returned her smile in kind. Throughout their long and deep conversation, they totally forgot about the food they were getting. matter of fact, for a small diner, the food was taking an abnormally long time.

"Geez, what are they doing in there, do they kill the rabbits live?" trixie asked jokingly, both of them chuckling at the joke.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a young mare approached their table. This mare had eyes on luna and then decided to speak. She also seemed to have on some kind of blue employee vest on her.

"Sounds funny and all but there are rumors…" the mare said ominously.

Both of their looks immediately turned to grave and stern ones. If this was true, luna was wondering if she had to act and trixie was wondering the same thing. The mare saw the looks on their faces and started bursting in laughter. Luna was puzzled but trixie realized that this was her version of a joke.

"I'm sorry… i had to too… anyways, i came to tell you your food will be ready in a minute…" her words were constantly stifled by more laughter.

"Ha, ha, good one…" trixie said in a annoyed tone. She never really like being the target of a joke.

However, luna was the opposite, she shared a small chuckle at the joke but small enough for the employee not to notice.

"Alright, you two enjoy your upcoming meal!" the mare with a service trained smile.

Trixie was annoyed by this mare, still not getting over the practical joke she made.

"It should have been here already!" trixie directing her frustration at the service mare.

Luna was just absorbing the moment in silence with a warm smile on her face. She was already getting a lot from this day and they didn't even start the meal. She'll admit having the same frustrations with the amount of time the food was taking but she had trixie for the more outgoing reactions. However, she did find the amount of time everything was taking very concerning.

"Wait, didn't i only order a salad?" luna asked, regaining trixie's attention.

"Heh, your right…, luna, if i die today, i'm blaming you" trixie replied jokingly, getting a laugh from luna.

However, something interesting happened between the two. The concerns about the amount of time the food was taking were slowly alleviating. Luna was less awkward public and was having too much fun to worry about the amount of time food was taking.

Finally, trixie and luna's food were brought to them by a service mare. Both of them were ready to be terrified or disappointed by the food they were about to be served. Instead, the heavenly scent of the burger immediately hit trixie's nose.

"One rabbit burger with a side of hay fries!" the service mare called out, placing the first meal down on the table.

"Thank you, this looks great!" trixie applauded the service mare who she was just irritated at a second ago.

"Give me one second, you salad is coming!" the service mare said to luna with that same excitement.

Luna nodded, at this point not really caring about the subpar salad she was about to be served. The service mare came back to their table with the quality of salad that luna was expecting.

"And one salad for the lovely princess!" the service mare said as she placed the salad on the table.

Luna was ok with what she had and for her, it wasn't about what she ended getting from the deal. She looked down at her salad and looked at trixie with a bite of burger in her mouth.

"What?" trixie asked, barely audible due to the food in her mouth.

This made luna laugh and proved her point in even more. No matter how subpar her salad is, this day is going to be one to remember for her and trixie.

 **An: hey, wow, a chapter that is somewhat on time (but not really). Chapters will be coming in a monthly rate, i am positive on this. Also, if you noticed, i've changed my formatting for the story and yes, this will be happening to older chapters. Because of this new formatting, it helps me write clearer and fast, bah boom! Ha, but seriously thanks for all the support, makes my day seeing new alerts!**

 **Ps: chapter revisions will come when i have a hold on new chapters. Although i am working on revising the first chapter, so look out for that and the new chapter this month.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Canterlot finale part 2: celestial night

 **Canterlot fairgrounds: afternoon, 5 hours till nightfall**

The fairground was where most massive town events were held. The city had a density to it that the grounds didn't have. Today, the giant patch of grasslands was used for something called the celestial night fair. Hosted in the middle of summer, the event is a celebration of the color and flair of canterlot. It was a straight shot path and to the left were different games and vendors to hang around at. However, towards the right was a gx

"I wonder if vinyl is gonna play here?" spike asked aloud, twilight taking him here for the evening.

"I wouldn't know" twilight replied.

Twilight heard about this event a lot due to all the times flash talked about it. Matter of fact, twilight actually felt a little guilty about ignoring his asks. It's not that she didn't like him but… actually her reasoning stopped at that. She didn't really give herself time to think about a committed relationship with another pony.

"Hey, how are you and flash doing?" spike asked casually.

"I don't know, i...i don't really know spike…" twilight said with an amount of regret in her voice.

Twilight wasn't a fan of how much she pushed away flash in the end. Even so, she didn't even like the language she was using. Pushing away even the idea of having a second chance to make things right with him.

"Hey… if i know one thing, flash is crazy for you and that will never change" spike replied, patting twilight on the back.

Twilight nodded in agreement but only did it for courtesy. She wanted to shake the whole thing out of her mind right now. Focus on the fun of the upcoming night and find out how to kill a couple hours of time in this fair.

"Anyways! Let's find some games to play, the real show starts at night!" twilight said in a dramatic but forced tone change.

Maybe it was the environment or them just talking earlier. One of these things made him decide to let twilight's obvious dodge slide. Spike was happy to have his mind at peace when it came to twilight. However, something that twilight mentioned in their earlier conversation.

"Hey twi.." his voice already signaled a heaviness that twilight wanted to block out for now.

"Not right now, let's focus on having fun, ok?" twilight interjected.

It was hard to accept at first but spike nodded in reply. Honestly, he wants to have fun as well and not worry about something for once. Taking his mind off of this thought became a lot easier after twilight spotted something on their left.

"Wha…" twilight was utterly baffled by what she saw to her left.

The game was a simple ring toss but it was the prize that threw her off. It was a miniature doll version of herself. Spike already saw this doll but was entertained by twilight's reaction to it.

"Did you know…" twilight was about to ask, still shocked by the miniature version of herself.

"Yep and this dragon is gonna win it for you!" spike said excitedly, breaking from his small melancholic state.

Twilight chuckled and decided to stand back. She was genuinely curious if he would have a better chance at the game due to his claws.

"10 bits per play… uh, dragon!" the stand owner said in confusion but managing to keep his sales pony energy.

Spike threw his bits on the counter, ready to ace the game on his first try. He turned his head and threw a wink a twilight. His confidence was high and he wasn't giving this stand anymore money then the amount he placed down.

 **100 bits later**

"This damn game is a cheat!" spike yelled in frustration, this being his tenth try.

Twilight was trying to hold her laughter in but also realizing he's gaining a lot of attention. While most ponies were used to the idea of spike. An angry dragon is something to be feared by those same ponies.

"Hey! I run an honest business, maybe you should work on your crappy aim!" the stand owner replied.

"Why you…" before spike could snap any further, twilight stepped in.

Twilight was still looking around her, hoping to contain the scene that he was making. However, she knows that this pony was lying to him. So, without even thinking, she decided to throw herself into the mix.

"I'll take a shot!" she exclaimed, gaining the attention of the salespony.

"Good, good, show this dragon how it's done!" the stand owner replied.

Twilight wasn't sure whether he had a particular beef with dragons or was just egging spike on for more money. Either way, it's working because she is about to play this stupid ring bottle game.

"Also, no magic and only teeth, don't worry, we clean the rings" the stand owner said with a smile.

Twilight sighed but acknowledged that the rule was fair. She walked up to the stand, place her 10 bits down and grabbed hold of a ring.

"You only need three and you win the doll" the stand owner said, twilight nodding in acknowledgement.

Her focus was dead set on the rinkity bottle. She was calculating in her mind how heavy of an arc was need for it to land. She winded up, shaking her head up and down. Finally, she lobbed the ring and it landed perfectly on the first bottle. However, she knew her time to celebrate wasn't now.

"One down, two to go" the stand owner commented, almost like he was clocking her.

She grabbed the second ring and used the same math applied to the first throw. The ring landed perfectly again and she had one more to go.

"Final stretch, don't less the pressure…" the owner was saying something but twilight was ignoring him at this point.

Her focus was dead set on the last bottle. Part of her wanted to just laugh in the owner's face after nailing it. She didn't even want the doll on shelf, it creeped her out. This victory was to reclaim some invisible honor that spike was holding.

What made this bottle harder was unlike the other ones, this bottle was elevated slightly higher. Slipping up with the aim was a lot easier and twilight had to redo her calculation on the fly. However, she couldn't get the angle just right and it was bothering her. So, in a decision unlike her, she decided to wing it. She winded up the throw and lobbed it.

"Won't you look at that, our first winner of the day!" the owner called out.

Twilight did a little hop in excitement and immediately regretted it. It was almost like another mare took over her body. She turned and saw spike was having his little laugh behind her. She sighed but then decided to smile over this occasion. It's been awhile since she had a pure amount of fun like this.

"Here's your prize, thanks for playing!" the owner said, pushing the doll in front of her.

Twilight looked at the creepy little thing and decided to pass it onto spike. Anyways, she didn't really have a place or use for something like this. She looked at the doll and picked it up with her magic. She moved it towards spike's direction and tapped him with it, gaining his attention. Spike focused his attention on the currently floating doll.

"Take it, a small present from me" twilight said, spike grabbing the doll to inspect it.

"Uh, i don't know…" spike said, really not wanting the thing.

"Come on, who wouldn't want a little me watching them" twilight said with a smile.

Spike chuckled, deciding to keep the doll. He snatched it from the air and looked at it with close inspection. While he looked at it, spike smiled, a charm started attaching to it already.

"Thanks… i guess" spike replied jokingly, getting a laugh from twilight.

"Enjoy the rest of your day!" the owner said as they were leaving.

Spike was still a little heated with him. So, in an act of pure immaturity, spike turned his head and snarled at him. This shook the pony up a little bit before both of them left his eyesight. Spike will admit there are times where he likes to play up the scary dragon side. However, no one who hanged around him liked his use of that side

"Spike, you should know better!" twilight exclaimed quietly.

"Yeah, i know…" spike replied, immediately feeling guilty for doing what he did.

"Don't throw away your good will…" twilight was about to start a speech that spike has heard for years.

Spike was about to just nod off but something clicked in his mind. Why shouldn't he selectively use the fear and judgement some ponies have for him to his advantage? For the most part, he hasn't really had any pony give him trouble. So he would rarely have to use the tactic that he just did. However, twilight was right on this case, what he did was quite petty.

"Ok… ok" spike interjected, wanting to push away from the subject.

"And i get it, there will be times you need to assert yourself but just be careful about it" twilight replied in a stern tone.

Spike was actually surprised by her adding that kind of clause in. before, that clause never existed in twilight's mind. Spike nodded in agreement to her advice and this allowed twilight to take a sigh of relief.

Twilight then took another look at the grown dragon in front of her and almost became emotional. Especially when she's about to make the choice to move forward in her life. Twilight had her worries but looking at him now made them slowly erode away.

"Will you be ok?" twilight asked genuinely, that being her current thought process.

"I guess we'll see what the future holds…" spike replied passively with a vague answer.

Although he feels things have concluded with twilight and his issues with that. He was missing something else and going back was something he wasn't too excited about. However, right now, in this moment, he was happier then ever and wanted to show that.

"But it maybe a great future, not gonna leave you on too bad of a cliffhanger" spike replied jokingly with a smile.

Twilight returned that smile, finding the answer that she wanted in her mind. She then looked around and realized their day has just begun. The sun was only just starting to set and they still had a couple hours before nightfall fireworks.

"Enough sentimentality, we still got the day ahead of us, let's find more games to play" twilight said, returning her mind back to the fair.

Spike wanted to audibly groan at the idea of playing more scam games. However, something sounded like edm saved the day if not only for just a couple minutes

"Is that.. That might be vinyl! Let's check it out!" spike said excitedly, genuinely wanting to see a friend and get out of carnival games.

Twilight nodded with a smile as both of them headed off to the main stage. However, she was really feeling lucky after winning the game on first try. So it was no secret that their were going to be stops to different game stands on the way to spike's displeasure.

 **Canterlot,low end shopping strip: afternoon, 4 hours till nightfall**

The sky was currently at a warm sunset and starting to darken. The shopping strip was becoming less lively due to the festival. Trixie wanted to take one last stroll through the shopping strip while luna just wanted to tag along. However, luna was quickly running out of time due to being a princess of the night. Honestly, she would have just broke off with her after having lunch but something was keeping her around. She wasn't ready to let go of her newly made friend yet. However, she never really did a lot of shopping either and this seemed like a good opportunity to find something nice.

There were two strips, one closer to the castle and another across the street from the celestial diner. The one pawn shop that trixie and spike visited was in the high end section. Honestly, if she knew everything about this town, this would be her first place to visit. Her relationship with rose gave trixie a deeper appreciation of local store owners. Compared to the much bigger franchises that you'll naturally find in canterlot. Whatever a store owner decided to sell in their place shows their personal passion for what's sold. At Least, that's what rose ranted about from time to time.

They were both decided what exactly they were going to buy or do. They already ate and they didn't really need anything at all. Trixie already had her souvenir and luna surprisingly didn't value knick knacks unlike most ponies.

"Oh, i almost forgot about the fair!" luna exclaimed out loud.

"What fair?" trixie asked in reply.

Luna quickly turned to her, immediately embrassed over her very public outburst. She sighed in embarrassment and decided to tell trixie about this fair.

"Sorry… it's just an event held once a year that i attend… " luna replied, keeping a tone of embarrassment in her voice,

Trixie started noticing one main character trait of luna that surprised her constantly. Her timid and slightly shy nature. Now, trixie immediately admits she's not on the level of old fluttershy. However, she is a tier below that and for a princess that's interesting in her book.

"Actually, a fair sounds pretty fun…." trixie said quietly to herself but luna was already in earshot.

"It should be…" luna said passively, only to acknowledge trixie.

What confused trixie was the amount of passiveness she had for this event. It seems like an opportunity to show canterlot the friendly mare she to know. However, something immediately popped up in her mind when thinking about this and it all added up.

"Why isn't it?" trixie asked.

Luna sighed, not liking the reason she had. It felt selfish and petty for her after all the support celestia gives her. Luna looked at trixie directly, admiring her honesty and advice during their time together. So, with that in mind, she decided to give her a truth that she's never told anyone around her.

"I love my sister…. But everyone forgets about me when standing right next to her….." luna replied, her voice fading in and out.

Trixie nodded, understanding her feelings completely. However, something seemed off about this sentiment. Luna had a unique position compared to celestia and that's being a guardian of the night. She's talked to and helped many ponies in their dreams, including trixie. The night should be her chance to shine and it should be her event. Matter of fact, it does seem like something that would be a spotlight for her.

"Wait… what is the fair celebrating?" trixie asked, trying to confirm a suspicion she's making.

"Um… it's a long story…" luna replied quietly, embarrassed to reveal the truth.

"Then give me the short one" trixie quickly replied, not letting the princess off easy.

Luna sighed, knowing that this was something trixie would let go easily. Luna isn't the most prideful of ponies but this would have took a severe hit to that pride.

" It was my idea…" luna continued in her quiet tone.

Trixie immediately jumped to conclusions after she said this. Thinking that she completed the puzzled but the next couple of words were about to prove her wrong.

"I was ready for it but after seeing the mass of ponies waiting for me to speak, i decided not to host it" luna finished.

For being a princess and hanging around the dreams of others. Trixie was really surprised with how timid and shy luna can be but still come out stronger then any pony she's met. However, trixie didn't necessarily understand this shyness. If she can talk with others one on one and lead political meetings then what's different about a fair?

At Least, that's what trixie initially thought until she remember her own personal fear. She couldn't judge her for anything if that hurdle is still in her way. For that reason, she decided to take a shot at trying to understand her point of view by melding it with her own.

"I… i've avoided doing any shows for awhile…." trixie started saying, stumbling while saying these words.

"Same as you, the large crowds have been trouble for me ever since… you know…" trixie didn't even want to put the smallest spotlight on her past and tried her damndest to avoid it.

"Anyways, i thought… how could i show my face to those ponies with the same thing that ruined their lives…" trixie sighed, trying to figure herself out in the process of admitting this to luna.

"So, um… am i close?" trixie finished, hoping she didn't waste air on an inaccurate guess.

Luna then looked her in the eye and gave a reaction that trixie honestly wasn't ready for her to give.

"Actually, your spot on… sadly" luna replied, continuely dappening her mood.

Trixie wasn't sure what she could do here because she finally ran into a problem without an easy answer for her. It's a fear from within that she still can't fully shake but trixie still wanted to say something.

"I mean, isn't it worth a shot?" trixie asked, the only thing she came up with so far.

"I don't know honestly and that makes me nervous…" luna replied with something that made sense to trixie.

However, she was tired of letting that line of logic run her to the ground. If she could just break out of that fear, things would be much easier. Trixie wanted to remember a time where her fear of performance never existed. Maybe she would be able to say something useful to the princess.

Then, after bringing up that idea, something immediately came to trixie's mind. She wasn't always fearless on stage and had the same fear to a lower scale. After remembering this, trixie came up with an idea, one that would give her much fear and discomfort. However, in her mind, this risk was worth it….Hopefully.

She stopped in her tracks and so did luna, at this point they were walking aimlessly. Trixie turned to luna and said the words that were packed into her head.

"How about we make a deal?" trixie asked luna.

Trixie was still unsure about making the deal she was about to make. However, she made up her mind when looking at a sad luna. Trixie didn't like a sad luna and in her opinion, nobody should.

"What do you mean?" luna replied with a question of her own.

"If you show up at the fair… i'll dust off the old hat and put on a show" trixie replied with the hesitation in her voice non existent.

Luna took a moment to think about her offer. It would be pretty last minute and celestia is a real stickler for schedules. However, she did like the concept that trixie was going for but needed one last bit of convincing.

"Um… i don't know, it'll still just be me out there…" luna said, still shaky about doing the fair.

Trixie related to that sentiment way more then luna would ever know. Her first couple of shows felt like that. Sometimes, when trixie started a show, it felt like her against thousands. Convincing those thousands that you are worth their time is harder then assumed. But to trixie, the best feeling in the world is convincing those ponies your worth their time. That why, at least for awhile, she loved performing. However, luna isn't a performer, she a princess just speaking at a fair.

Then, trixie remembered something that her mother used to do for her. If it helped her erase fears of the audience and express herself. Maybe it could help a bookish princess as well.

"It won't be, because i will be there and have the loudest cheer in the crowd" trixie replied with a small smile.

Luna though this was second sweetest thing anyone has ever said to her. This was it, this was the thing that would pull her to the other side and accept her deal. She looked at trixe and gave her the words that confirmed this move to the other side.

"I accept your deal" luna replied with her own smile.

Trixie was glad that she's doing the fair but realized what position she put herself in. a magic showcase had a lot of moving parts to it and that's not even counting the ponyville population accepting her doing a show.

"Do not worry, you will receive my support as well" luna said with genuine heart behind it.

After hearing this from her, she stopped thinking about these issues, at least for tonight. Tonight she wanted to have a last bit of fun in canterlot with her princess friend.

"Shoot!, if i don't get going, i'm gonna be late for the fair!" luna exclaimed, quickly glancing at trixie for some type of approval.

"Just go, i'mma be fine, i'll meet you at the fair!" trixie said, swatting her away with hoof.

Luna nodded, getting the approval she wanted, taking off for the castle as quickly she could. Leaving trixie to wonder what her next move should be.

It was her idea to come down to this strip and it seemed a little to early to head to the fair. She wasn't really a carnival games mare. She much preferred the atmosphere, rides and food provided. Then she thought about whether spike knew about the fair and attended it with twilight.

It made sense for her and checking on the drake was something she wanted to do. Spike has been on the back of her mind for at least the whole day. With that in mind, trixie wondered exactly she would say to him. She even wondered if she had anything more significant to say to him.

"I am gonna need his help to put the show together…" trixie thought to herself.

This was the excuse that she needed to justify just wanting to see how he's doing. She didn't put this rule up for rose. However, in her mind, the rules change when you have possible feelings for someone. Trixie knew this was a silly perspective but one that existing nevertheless. However, that's not the most pressing thing on her mind at the moment.

Putting together this show at least had two or three different hurdles to cross. Why would any ponies trust her to put on a show. Sure, she has maybe had more then a little bit of progress with at least two mares but is that really enough? Also there is the fact that she hasn't really done any tricks in years. Let alone the fact that she needs a venue to do this kind of show in. a lot of work is gonna need to be done for this to workout for her.

She continued to walk the market streets with this in her mind with no objective at all. That lack of objective was legitimately starting to annoy trixie. At this point, she decided to give herself two choices. Head to the fair or find a nice outfit in one of these shops. In these two choices she remembered something important.

"I'm not really an outfit mare though…" she said to herself quietly.

Which was a true statement, at least is was now. Her baseline outfit was just a cape and a hat. Then she remembered luna's pick for the day and how much she liked that. So she did care about that kind of thing a little bit more then even she realized.

"Well… i gotta at least try new things…" this was the final push for her decision.

The happy medium, finding some cheap clothes at a thrift store should be her entertainment before heading to the fair. So she headed off, looking for the nearest thrift shop with an agenda in her mind.

 **Canterlot fairgrounds, concert ares, backstage: 2 hours before nightfall**

"Thanks for this, you a gem spike" octavia said to a disgruntled spike

"An actual gem would be more then appreciated after this" spike replied while lifting a heavy speaker.

After hearing the edm that hit spike's ears, he decided to head for the concert area. However, due to the quality of speaker, they blew out pretty easily after an admittedly impressive beat drop. So with little options and a helpful dragon on site, they had what's needed to fix the problem before fireworks.

"By the way, where's twilight?" octavia asked.

Spike first dropped the speaker where it needed to be before answering her question.

"Playing games, i didn't want to, so hear i am" spike replied, getting a nod from octavia.

"Not good at them, hyh?" octavia asked jokingly

"Come on, you know those things are rigged to death!' spike replied with a small chuckle.

"So i guess none of my wins are legitimate" octavia said smugly.

"You and twi are smart, i consider that cheating" spike said, getting them both to start laughing.

Spike decided to take a seat on top of the speaker due to lack of work. Octavia decided to lay down as well with nothing to do until vinyl got back.

"Where's vinyl anyways?" spike asked octavia.

"Well, looking for stronger cables, wants to make sure everything is on the up and up..." octavis replied.

However, just the mention of vinyl made octavia immediately start sounding melancholic. Spike picked up this tone and decided to pry just a little bit.

"Hey, everything ok?" spike asked her.

She already knew that spike was picking mood changes. However, she didn't even see her worries as a big deal. Although, she did know lying to him about the issue would be hard to do. So she just decided to speak on just ideas and not the actual scenario that is happening to her.

"You already know how i feel about her, right?" octavia asked, getting a nod from spike.

"I feel like i running out of time but i'm too nervous to say anything" octavia finished.

Spike always found it adorable the way that octavia cares about vinyl. Mostly because besides casual conversion, octavia was a no nonsense mare. To spike, vinyl was the definition of carefree nonsense. So he wondered what was her appeal.

"What do you like about her?" spike asked to get a sense of her feelings.

"Wow, straight to the point huh…." octavia immediately started getting flustered.

However, she managed to work through when putting thought into her next couple words. She looked th drake in the eyes and began to speak her peace.

"Well, in the simplest term, she challenges me" octavia replied with a blooming smile.

"Isn't that bad?" spike asked, getting a chuckle from octavia.

"If your never challenged, how do you grow?" octavia replied with a question of her own.

Spike couldn't really argue with her on that front. This statement got him thinking about where he currently is. Then, he started thinking about how things have been this past month. Going to a party and coming back to canterlot. These two things wouldn't have been done without the help of….

"That can't be right…" spike accidently said out loud.

"Hm?" octavia asked, hearing him.

"Um, i mean, that can't be all right?" spike asked, clumsily recovering from his mental lapse.

"Well, no but… i prefer to keep that to myself…" octavia suddenly became flustered.

"If it stays that way, then you'll never be heard" spike replied in a much graver tone.

Something about his point really bit into octavia. She's hid these feelings for years and they were most painful while vinyl was dating. Every small and stupid argument they had over all the nameless colts she hung around with. She even watched one get so close to her and shatter her heart to pieces.

Would things have changed if she said something early? Octavia had no idea but she wasn't gonna let vinyl pass her by without at least knowing her feelings.

"I sometimes forget how insightful you can be" octavia replied with a smile.

"Well, i've had experience…" spike replied, sounding slightly melancholy reflecting on his past.

"Hey, that experience lead you to fluttershy" octavia replied.

"Yeah, your right" spike replied, nodding and quickly snapping out of his melancholy.

Octavia sighed, not ready for what she as about to do. Octavia decided not to speak for a little bit, thinking about what in the world she was gonna say to vinyl. Spike had a sense that this is what she was taking the time to think about.

After a little bit, octavia turned to him and asked a simple question.

"Know any good date spots in canterlot?" octavia asked in pure and innocent curiosity.

"I like the confidence and all, but do i look like a dragon that can afford a date in canterlot" spike replied with dry wit.

"Sorry…." octavia replied, forgetting that she is technically a member of the elite.

"But i've heard of a place in the high end district that has amazing live music" spike recalled from a conversation with rarity.

"What's it called?" octavia asked in curiosity.

"I don't remember…" spike replied with a claw on his chin.

While spike was thinking about the name, octavia held a smile on her face. No matter what scenario, this dragon was always willing to be helpful. However, for the next thing she was about to do, she needed a little space.

"Everything is pretty much good here, you could head out now" octavia said in the lightest tone.

Spike was very much aware as to why she needed him gone. Part of him wanted to stay and see how her confession would go. But, doing something that massive must already be nerve racking enough. He didn't want to be the one that made it worse.

"Alright… but you better tell me how it goes" spike replied with a sly smirk.

"Sure spike, sure" octavia replied with a small chuckle.

Spike got up from the speaker he was sitting on and was getting ready to leave. As he was walking away from the stage, he had a though pop up into his head. He probably knew the answer he was going to get if he asked this question. Thought for him, it didn't hurt to at least ask octavia about it.

"Hey, do you think fluttershy will challenge me… you know, in the good way?" spike asked, frozen in place.

"It's too early to tell, don't worry about that stuff right now!" octavia replied with a swat of the hoof.

He chuckled, feeling silly for even asking something like that. It is too early and so far things seem to be going pretty well for him. After hearing these words, spike made his exit from the stage to enjoy the upcoming fireworks.

Octavia looked at the drake as he walked away. She sighed, knowing the lie she just told the drake. However, she had her own problems to deal with and needed to prepare herself for the task at hand.

"You can do this…" octavia said to herself, barely ready for what could come next.

 **Canterlot fairgrounds, concert area, seating area: 30 minutes till nightfall ceremony**

The sky was cascaded by stars and the moon was the brightest it's ever seen. Atleast, that's what she was trying to focus on. looking around, she saw multiple couples bundled together in warm blankets. Protecting themselves from the chill of the night in each other's embrace. This was a feeling she never thought about craving before but now it's a constant in her mind.

In all honesty, she wasn't even really that cold. The one item she bought from the thrift store was a light blue hoodie. It was warm enough and it even concealed her face from others. Yet, she still feels this chill inside of her. She sighed, only here for two reasons and one of them didn't…

"Hey…"

Trixie turned around and saw that stupid dragon with a smile on his face. Sometimes she hated how happy go lucky he can be. However, she knew better then to think he was just fine. She knew him on at least the smallest level, insecurity and all.

"Hey yourself" trixie replied with the same amount of simplicity.

Before she could even think about what to say, he decided to sit right next. He sighed, seeming like he had a pretty extensive day.

"What's got you tired?" she asked.

"Oh, just had to help octavia lift a speaker" spike replied, carefree as ever.

"You know you don't have to help everyone, right?" trixie asked jokingly.

"I know but it was either that or carnival games" spike replied with a groan.

"Lifting heavy objects or throwing a ring…." trixie replied with heavy sarcasm.

"Ok, ok, i get it!" spike replied as they both started laughing.

While they were talking, that chill trixie felt was slowly eroding away. It was instead being replaced with a heavy warmth. Yet, this warmth didn't make her flustered around him. It felt more like sitting around a campfire, a comfortable warmth.

"Hey, i'm gonna need your help with something when we get back" trixie said, remembering her promise to luna.

"Didn't you just…" spike was about to comment before trixie interjected.

"Since your helping me, your right to choose has been revoked" trixie said mockingly.

"Fair enough, what's your request?" spike replied with a smile.

"Um.. about a magic show… i've decided to change my mind" trixie replied,slightly flustered,

This was due to the reality of what she just promised to do. Everything about her negative past was attached to her show magic. However, when she looked over to spike, she saw this overwhelming look of pride on him.

"That's great, of course you have my support!" spike replied with a stupid grin on his face.

"Say that now but once the work starts, we'll see how you feel" trixie replied jokingly.

"Same with you, don't chicken out of this" spike replied in the same town.

"I can't, don't wanna disappoint royalty.." she replied, coming off as a humble brag.

"Really, in exchange for what?" spike immediately sniffed out a deal was made.

"You'll see" trixie replied, still vague about the deal that was made.

After their small bit of conversation, they both just sat together quietly. For others it would seem awkward but for them it was perfect. These two both lead lives mentally and psychically that exhausting them. The day was indeed a long one for both, so having a moment of silent peace was important.

Spike was thinking about something octavia said about challenge. It was such a simple idea and yet it flew over his till now. Having someone who would push you forward instead of holding you back. But why was this something he was thinking about right now? His relationship is still fresh and might evolve over time.

He then turned to the mare beside him on the blanket. Looking up at the sky, waiting for the fireworks to show up. She looked like a excited foal and it was adorable. However, this glance wasn't unnoticed by her. She turned herself to look the dragon straight into his emerald eyes.

"Hey spike…" trixie was the first one to speak up.

"Yeah.." spike replied, nerves hitting him like a truck.

"Been one hell of a year so far, huh?" she asked with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, you could say that" spike replied, breaking out of his previous thought.

They were only inches apart at this point and trixie was well aware of this. Spike just didn't really have a care for things of such a small nature. The closeness actual felt natural for both of them. Spike started really valuing the small bond they managed to have throughout these couple of months.

While spike was in quiet thought, looking at the stars. h e felt a soft fur presence on his right side. He turned to find that the presence was trixie, resting on him. Her violet eyes were slowly closing shut. Spike didn't really want to bother her and he didn't really mind it. Matter of fact, he actually was finding it quite pleasant. Now this wasn't something he was going to admit to anyone but himself.

The jasmine scent of her hair hit his nose again. Spike was always fond of the sweet scent but never had a chance to fully enjoy it. So he was sitting there, a mare lying on his side, watching the night sky. He was tired enough to start falling asleep himself until….

"How it's going party ponies!"

The loud sound of an ecstatic dj blasted the speakers and woke up the dozing mare beside spike. Trixie's eyes fluttered open to turn and look at him. However, unlike last time she did this. She wasn't rushing to get up.

"What was that?" trixie asked with a yawn attached.

"Vinyl, the celebration must be starting" spike replied just as casually.

Both of them had the same middling reaction to their situation. They've finally past the point where they are fully comfortable with each other. Spike felt this way while honestly being platonic with her. Trixie was glad about this but she genuinely harbored feelings for the drake. This made things only slightly complicated for her.

"Actually i need to be up for this" trixie replied, moving away from the drake.

Your heard a massive scream from the crowd and vinyl was eating up that energy. She threw her hooves up into the aire, getting another scream from the massive crowd.

"Now before we get things started, we have a special message from…"

Before vinyl could finish her sentence, what seemed like a royal guard ran up to the stage. For what seemed like a minute. The guard was whispering in her about something important. After that minute, she returned to position.

"Sorry for the delay but it's looks like there's been a change of plans…"

Soon as trixie heard this, she was immediately excited for what was to come. She nudged spike for him to pay attention to the stage.

"Princess luna will actually kick off our opening ceremony!"

While you still heard cheers at this announcement, they weren't as many as before. It wasn't silent but passion isn't the word you should attach to it. This slightly sadden trixie but that only meant she had to keep one of her promises.

"Yeah!" trixie gave the loudest cheer possible.

Spike was surprised she managed to get luna on that stage. Due to this rare occurrence and the energy the trixie had. This left no choice but for spike to stand up and join her cheer.

"Wooooooo!" spike cheered, throwing his balled claw up in the air.

Trixie heard his support and that was enough to make her smile. Sometimes she didn't understand how one dragon could have this big of a heart. However, like most ponies, she didn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Once vinyl heard all of the cheers, she dropped the volume of whatever edm was playing. Looking at the audience, she made the announcement trixie was waiting for.

"Please welcome… princess luna!" Vinyl stepped away from the microphone.

 **Canterlot fairgrounds, concert area, backstage: nightfall ceremony begins**

She heard the cheer of the crowd, waiting for her arrival on stage. While her nerves will still heavily attached to her, she's never been so excited. She was only going to be speaking for a small amount time but it meant a lot to her. Enough where she was still fighting with what she wanted to say.

While she was having this fight, she heard something. One cheer out of thousands, the one she was promised to hear.

"Yeah!"

It was trixie, she kept her promise and that gave her the last bit of confidence. She took a deep breath and started her walk onstage.

 **Canterlot fairgrounds, concert area: the nightfall ceremony**

She took it step by step and her breaths were slow. The area around her turned from a box filled dark room into an arena with a view of thousands. As soon as she arrived on stage, the cheer of the crowd exploded. At first, this intimidated her, did she really have something that important to say?

After a little bit though, she started seeing familiar faces. She saw her kingdom, ponies dealing with their own problems. A colt that's still feeling the fresh effects of a divorce, a mare whose son recently died and many more. She's talked to these ponies and did her best to comfort them in their sleep. Sometimes it's this misery that connects her to ponies more then joy.

She walked up to the singular microphone next to the turntable. This time, she let the audience hear her sigh before speaking.

"Um… wow, hello and how are you guys doing tonight?" luna's first words were nerve ridden.

That didn't bother the crowd though. They responded in kind with loud cheers from all across the fairground. Luna was quite surprised by the reaction she was getting from the crowd. However, she mostly blamed this on the energy of the event. She took another breath and began her speech.

"I.. i want to admit something… it took a lot for me to appear on this stage.."

"I never thought i was worthy of being here do to my mistakes and their effects…"

"However, i learned something from those feelings of discontent…"

"That these feelings, no matter how much pain they cause you, are normal.."

"And that someone, anyone, can show you the way but only you can change it…"

"Someone helped me, someone like you, show me the way…"

"So, i wanted all of you to know, as your princess, the one who sees your fears and dreams…"

"That i will always be your guiding light and you will never ne alone!"

Those last words were spoken with power and the audience felt the power behind those words. They responded with an eruption of cheers and luna was already building from that energy. She put on a bright smile and left with a final message.

"Enjoy today and may you all have a peaceful night, enjoy the ceremony!"

Luna left the stage with an excitement beyond fever pitch. This was one of her biggest fears and it sounds like she knocked the speech out of the park. She kept that bright smile and made her way off the stage.

 **canterlot fairgrounds, concert area, seating area**

"I'll admit, getting luna on that stage was impressive"

Spike was talking to trixie about the even that just occured. Trixie allowed herself to do a bit of modest bragging on her part.

"Her speech was amazing .." trixie stated, blown away and inspired by her words.

In her opinion, she didn't really do that much for luna. Just simply talk to her and that apparently meant a lot. Her having that much of an impact on her brightened her mood in a big way. The biggest tell was in her face of pure wonderment and joy.

"Yep, you can say that was a good trade off…" spike replied.

"Now i gotta do that magic show!" trixie said, still energy filled from the speech.

Spike nodded and had himself a small chuckle. He admittedly loved seeing her happy but that could be said for mostly anyone he meets. However, something about her wins were a bit more potent in his mind.

"Maybe we should…" spike was going to say something but a yawn escaped his mouth.

"Someone's tired" trixie said in a mocking manner.

"And your not" spike asked with a additional chuckle added in.

"Already had my rest…" trixie replied, becoming flustered.

"Um. yeah…" spike replied, the sudden flustering becoming contagious.

They were both completely silent at this point. One already figured out her feelings about the other. While the other is trying to figure out why these kind of things are coming from. Spike considers her a very good friend and yet that moment is suddenly on reply in his mind.

Before they could think about the night anymore then they already were. They both heard a big crack in the sky. They both look up to see the very first burst of color appear in the sky.

"Woah…" trixie commented, amazed by the bright color.

Spike was smiling as well, it being a while since he's seen a firework before. Trixie had the same reaction as well. Although, she ended up getting into much deeper thought while watching these colors explode.

She's lived a decently long life as a mare. Been to many places, done many different things and met many ponies. Even so, these have been the most meaningful couple of months she has ever had. She atleast was starting to gain a sense of herself but her footing still needed work. Trixie was confident that with spike on her side, she could find that footing.

She took a deep breath and looked up at the night sky. Fireworks for her signified the ending of one season and the start of another. Change was inevitable for the both of them but for now, might as well enjoy the show.

 **Meanwhile in another town**

Her eyes were irritated from the amount of crying she was previously doing. A nose, dripping with blood, a wound that was still fresh. However, that was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling inside. She choose the floor of her grass hut to lay herself on, lacking energy to move elsewhere.

However, the most interesting thing about this pony's mood, she had no regrets about her a fact, she wanted to slap a little harder. She's always been timid and never prefered to start anything. However, she's pushed a little too far and she not getting pushed over.

"I can't.. I'm not gonna let her run me over!"

She felt like crying but she already knew it wasn't doing anything for her. Besides, she was already running out of time. She heard a vicious knocking on her door that was attached to a furious voice.

"Fluttershy, you coward! How dare you say those things! Open This door or i will!"

She took a deep breath and pulled herself up from the floor. She is about to show her exactly what this coward can do. The mare was no longer scared, she was furious with the mare outside the door. She looked at the door with both fear and surpressed anger.

"Come on then!"

 **Next time: the emerald servent, chapter 15.5: to assert your existence**

 **An: hi, i've been gone for three months and here's why. In all seriousness, i'm super sorry for being so late with this chapter. A lot of stuff happened. From work during the holidays to vision problems and just plain laziness. Also, everytime i looked at this chapter it was always one change after another. Sadly, this doesn't mean i have a clear timetable for the next chapter. However, that preview should tell you i'm a lot farther along with it. Chapter 15.5 is a really really fun chapter to write and there are reveals a plenty. One last thing, thank you guys so much for sticking with this old man's pacing problems. Also i've tried a couple new formatting tricks with the story, let me know what ya think!**

 **Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy this chapter long in t**

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